Who Will Protect The Heroes
by DragonChild157
Summary: ...when they cannot protect themselves? The team is realing from Wally's death. But they don't have long to grieve. One by one team members are disappearing & there seems to be nothing the league can do. As the team find themselves somewhere they never imagined, they must make new friends & pull together to get themselves back home in time to save the world: Result of cancellation.
1. Prologue

(sigh)...yes, I realize I am certifiable starting yet _another_ story with at least four others in the works, but this one needs to be written (for me at least). Hope you guys like my poking and prodding at the issue of Young Justice's cancellation.

**Boring Disclaimer:** _I do not own DC, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network or any of their 'shite' (sh*t with a slightly nicer sound. :D), nor do I even pretend to own it or any of their affiliates. I'm just borrowing Young Justice since they don't see fit to let the poor kids out of the house any more..._

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ENJOY

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**The Watchtower: July 4, 9:16 p.m.**

Nightwing smiled, fondly watching the team. "Business as usual." He murmured.

Wally might no longer be with them, but life went on nonetheless. His eyes stung a little behind the mask, the tears he refused to publicly shed desperately wanting to escape. He would miss the redheaded speedster, more than most people could probably even imagine.

He turned and moved towards the zeta tubes.

He was taking a break from the team. Somehow it just didn't feel right without Wally. It never had. But as long as he knew Wally was alive and happy with Artemis in Palo Alto he'd been able to accept his friend's resignation from the team and from the hero business altogether.

That didn't stop him from being overjoyed when first Artemis and then Wally had temporarily come out of retirement to save the world.

He sighed, keying in the code that would take him home. He still felt guilty about that.

It was his fault that Artemis had come out of retirement. If Artemis hadn't gone back to the life of a hero, Wally never would've needed to come out of retirement to rescue her. His fault that Kid Flash ran the globe again that day.

His fault Wally was gone.

He knew Wally would've disagreed with him if he could hear what was going on in his head. He knew the speedster would've been outraged that he was blaming himself for his best friend's death. He knew that if he were still around, Wally would probably come up and kick the living tar out of him for leaving the team now because of Wally was gone.

He knew all of that. But he knew something else as well.

The brilliant white light of the zeta tube leapt up around him and he stepped forward into its embrace.

_Recognize. Nightwing. B. Zero. One. _

He knew that he'd just lost his best friend. He knew that the hurt would never go away completely, though in time he would learn to live with it.

But if he didn't get away for a while, he knew he would fall apart.

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I know it's a little...emotional...right now, but I promise we get into more action. But I kind of need to cover the reactions to Wally's death, or at least touch on them ya know? Next up, chapter one...

Review! Or I'll keep making you cry! Mwahahahahahahahaha...!

Until next time...


	2. Where Did She Go?

Here's the first chapter...yes, I am aware that it's probably gonna make people cry. Hope you like(?) it anyway!

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ENJOY!

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**Palo Alto: July 8, 1:04 a.m. **

Artemis wept.

She was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a great big voluminous fleece blanket.

Underneath the blanket she was dressed in a pair of short shorts, a spaghetti strap tank top, and one of Wally's ridiculous canary yellow hoodies with the red Kid Flash symbol emblazoned on the front.

Her eyes were red, the tears streaking her cheeks. Her blonde hair hung in long, wet, tangled tendrils down her black. On the floor at her feet lay her Tigress uniform, the empty eye sockets of the mask seeming to stare back up at her.

It was raining outside, had been most of the evening.

In an attempt to establish the Tigress as a hero, Artemis had gone out on patrol.

Star City belonged to the 'arrows', Central City forever and always would be the home of the speedsters. And Gotham… she shook her head.

Gotham might be where she grew up, but it was off limits to anyone outside the Bat family. The Bat _clan _could operate in Gotham sporadically, but only when accompanied by a bat or bird. Though Gotham would certainly have kept her busy from dusk till dawn with it's incessant petty crime, and Nightwing was a close and valued friend, she would not have been willing to patrol with him tonight.

Batgirl and Robin even less.

It wasn't that she held anything against them, the latest Robin was a good boy and would someday grow into a fine young man, and she and Batgirl got along quite well! But she just didn't want the company tonight.

Her first night on patrol as Tigress.

In the end she had simply patrolled Palo Alto for lack of somewhere more desirable to her. She had never stalked it's streets, alleys, and rooftops, as a hero _or _as an undercover villain. She had only ever explored as a college student, often with her red headed boyfriend in tow, which meant that she was somewhat distracted. The lay of the land was, for the most part, foreign to her.

But she had managed.

The sky had opened up and decided to pour down rain in the middle of her taking down a group of five muggers who had jumped a late night jogger. She'd finished them off quickly, staying with the jogger under a nearby overhang until the cops arrived in response to the jogger's 9-1-1 call.

She'd slipped away into the shadows once she knew the jogger would be safe.

Artemis had decided to call it a night after that and had returned home. She had changed into pajamas and, on a spur of the moment thought, had grabbed one of Wally's warmest hoodies out of the closet and curled up with a blanket in front of the T.V.

Clicking through the shows she come across one of her and Wally's favorites, and in the end she'd been unable to hold her emotions at bay. Artemis had clicked the T.V. off and indulged in a good long cry, memories of Wally flooding her mind.

Something warm pressed against her, and for one irrational moment she thought it was Wally.

A soft whine came to her ears, dashing that hope, and a blocky head nuzzled against her. She lifted her head out of her arms, and a tiny smile touched her lips.

The white Pit Bull gave an anxious whine, nosing at her in an attempt to get into her lap. She stroked his head as she opened her arms to him, her smile widening a little as she remembered how this dog had come into her life.

Much the same way Wally had in fact.

Artemis had been going out to get the morning paper. She'd opened the front door, and the puppy had literally tumbled inside with a yelp, tripping over large paws he had yet to grow into. All the picture needed was some sort of ball bouncing across the floor away from him, and it would've been a dead ringer for Wally's arrival at the mountain the night she'd joined the team.

Wally of course had geeked out over the Pit Bull pup, asking if they could keep it and if they could, could they name it Spitfire?

Artemis had told him no.

They had hung up found posters all over Palo Alto, but no one ever called. As the weeks had passed that puppy had grown, both in size and on Artemis. After three weeks without a single call, she had finally relented and told Wally they could keep the pup.

But she absolutely _refused _to name it Spitfire!

Wally had wanted to name it Brutus. She wanted Bruce which, for some strange reason she couldn't fathom, Wally had both objected to and yet found incredibly hilarious. He said it had something to do with an experience with the Bat family back before he, Robin, Kaldur, and Conner had formed the team.

He'd insisted that he would never be able to look at a _white Pit Bull _named _Bruce_ and keep from laughing, and he guaranteed that no one else in the Bat Family would either.

In the end, they'd agreed to name the pup Brucely.

Wally still grinned like mad whenever he heard or said the name, or even laid eyes on the dog for that matter. But it was better than the full blown fits of laughter the idea of naming it just Bruce had produced.

Tears welled fresh in her eyes as she remembered Wally with this dog.

Playing fetch and Frisbee and tug of war in the park. Murmuring soothingly with her during Brucely's first vet trip. Wrestling with the swiftly growing pup on the floor of their living room while she looked on from the kitchen. Wally sprawled out on their couch after a long night of studying, Brucely curled up in a tight ball next to him.

She buried her face in Brucely's short fur with a small sob.

The white Pit Bull whined, nuzzling at her neck and shoulder in an attempt at comforting her. He didn't entirely understand what was wrong, but he understood that she was hurting, and her mate wasn't here to make her feel better. He licked the side of her neck and her ear, that was the best that he could reach.

Then he stopped.

Artemis felt Brucely suddenly stiffen, the anxious whine dying in his throat. She raised her head, trying to focus on him through tear blurred eyes. "Brucely..?"

The dog suddenly growled and leapt out of her arms. He paced the floor in front of her, head lowered and hackles raised as he scanned the apartment, apparently unable to decide exactly where the threat was going to come from.

All thoughts of Wally were pushed to the back of her mind as she focused on the moment, senses straining to hear or smell whatever it was that Brucely had sensed.

She turned, setting her feet down on the floor. The Tigress's weapons were laying on the coffee table, and she slipped one hand out of her cocoon of a blanket for them.

That was when it struck.

Brilliant white light blossomed around her, almost as if she'd stepped into a zeta tube, and she had the sudden sensation of being roughly grabbed and dragged backwards.

She couldn't see anything but white. Couldn't hear anything other than her own breathing, her heart pounding in her ears. She crashed into something hard, and her vision fuzzed out.

She knew no more.

* * *

Brucely gave a soft nervous whine, watching the strange light disappear.

His mistress was gone.

He moved back to the couch, sniffing at it curiously. He could smell her on it, but she wasn't there anymore. He looked around the room, wondering where she had gone while that light blinded him.

He made his way through their home, looking for her everywhere.

He even looked under the beds and pawed open those little rooms his mistress and master kept their false skins in. He'd seen his master hide in one of those once to surprise his mistress.

But she wasn't there.

He wandered back into the living room, ears and tail drooping as he walked back to where he had last seen her. Where had she gone? Did she go looking for her mate? But why would she leave him behind, he had been good hadn't he? Hadn't he? Had he done something really wrong?

Was that why she left?

He whimpered quietly. Going to the false skin she had left lying on the floor, he gently picked it up in his teeth and dragged it back to the couch. The white Pit Bull climbed up on the furniture, pulling Artemis's costume after him.

He laid it in a heap where she'd been seated and curled up on top of it, his nose buried in the fabric that smelled so much like his mistress and, to a lesser degree, his missing master.

He didn't know where they had gone, or why. But he knew they would come back. Whenever they left him home, they always came back. He had been confused when his mistress disappeared for months, but she had come back. When his master didn't come back, Brucely had no doubt that he would eventually.

He knew that his master and mistress loved him. They would come back here for him eventually.

And he would wait right here for them until they did.

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Where'd she go? Did she get sucked into the speedforce...? Yeah, no, though that could be a fun route to take as well. What really happened to her? You'll have to wait and see!

Review, or poor little Brucely's guilt tripping will continue! (My mom already hates me for this. She says I'm despicable)

Until next time...


	3. Death of Kid Flash

Yay, getting into a little more of the action! Hope you enjoy(?)! (And due to the amount of tears shed in the last chapter I am now enclosing a tissue box at the end of each chapter)

Since I only had three reviews I'll answer your questions here today:

**_Ally Marton: _**_My mom is more a fan of my writing than of the show, though I'm really trying to get her hooked. You'll have to read the chapter to find out who's next on my hit list (evil laughter). And as to you last question...(shifty eyes)..._

**_Rocketeer101: _**_Thank you very much! And as to pairings, I see where people get it but I've never really liked or disliked 'traught'. I'm more of a 'challant' and 'spitfire' type of person, so I think it's safe to say this one's Spitfire. :D_

**_RockyLover: _**_(cowers in fear) ...but I did it for the story! Please don't hurt me! (Offers up new chapter as a peace offering and runs for the hills)_

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_ENJOY!_

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**Central City: July12, 10:35 a.m.**

"All I'm saying is that I'm worried about her. She hasn't answered her phone since answering Bart's text the day after Wally died. And aside from several sighting's of a blonde Tigress in Palo Alto, no one's seen her since that night by Wally's memorial. Even her mom's getting worried!"

Flash sighed and nodded. Green Arrow had reason to worry.

Blue eyes gazed out from behind the white lenses of his cowl at Central City. There was a festival in town today, and he had no doubt that the rogues of Central would try something.

He'd invited the 'arrows' up from Star City to lend a hand.

At his side, Kid Flash leaned out over the edge of the building's roof, surveying the crowded town square below.

Flash shook his head. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to that. He knew that after the world was saved from the Reach, Wally and Artemis had intended to go back into retirement and Wally had promised to pass the mantle of Kid Flash on.

But it would take time to get used to seeing _this_ Kid Flash at his side.

He still did a double take. To anyone without super speed, it would be unnoticeable, as it barely took him one sixteenth of a second. But Bart knew.

Bart would always know.

Flash did a double take every time Kid Flash run up to him and he realized that the frame was more slender than he remembered. Every time he saw auburn hair sticking up out of that gold costume instead of brilliant red. Every time hazel eyes gazed back at him from behind that mask instead of striking emerald.

Every time he did a double take and he had to remind himself that this _wasn't_ Wally.

This was Bart.

Barry looked away to the 'arrows'. Green Arrow had no less difficulty with his own protégé's it seemed. Oliver had begun to patch things up with Roy.

Both of them.

And both of them were here with him today. Red Arrow stood on one side of Green Arrow, Arsenal on the other. Though they still appeared to feel a little awkward with each other, it wasn't as bad as it used to be.

Remembering a little tidbit he'd heard not too long ago, Barry smiled. "Red Arrow." The young man in question glanced up, eyebrow arching in question. "How's your daughter doing?"

All three 'arrows reacted with surprise.

Arsenal was the first one to regain his power of speech. "You have a _daughter_?!"

Green Arrow was right behind him though with a, "Since when have I been a _grandpa_?!"

Barry winced, he hadn't meant to spill the beans. "Sorry, didn't realize they didn't know." He apologized.

Roy waved it off. "They were bound to find out sooner or later." He answered. He sighed and turned to face his mentor and his genetic donor. "Yes Arsenal, I have a daughter, a wife too. Jade's the reason I was able to find you in Tibet. And yes Green Arrow, you're a grandpa, have been for a little under a year. Your granddaughter's name is Lian Nyguen Harper."

"When were you going to tell us all of this?" Arsenal growled. Seeing as how clone Roy had replaced him, he saw the clone as having been living his life for eight years. The idea that the clone had gotten married and had a kid during the course of that life…

Red Arrow shrugged. "As soon as Jade and I figured out how to get her out of the life." He answered. "It's a little complicated." He eyed Barry. "How exactly did _you_ find out?"

Barry chuckled. "Wally. He was really excited when he found out he was an honorary uncle. He _literally_ had to run right over and tell me."

Red Arrow got a confused look on his face. "How the hell did _Wally _find out? I haven't told_ anyone_ about Jade and Lian!"

"Well that's easy! He found out from…" Bart trailed off as all eyes fastened on him. Seeing the looks on their faces he held up his hands. "Hey, don't look at me, I didn't tell cousin Wally about the future Red Arrow! I just figured Nightwing probably told him and…" he trailed off again as he realized that they were all starring at him now. "What?"

"The _future_ Red Arrow…?" Red Arrow asked, stunned.

Bart grimaced and face palmed. "Oops, _spoilers_! I swear, I've gotta get better at that!"

Barry shook his head. "Exactly how much _do _you know about the lives of past superheroes?" he asked. "I always assumed you'd focused on the Reach invasion.

Bart bit his lip. "Anything and everything I could possibly find out. No one knew exactly _how_ the Reach took over the world, or even _when _they took over. All anyone knew was that they did, and it was sometime after Neutron killed my Grandpa." He winced. "Neutron was able to give me the exact date, place, and time of your death. So we set the time machine for the day of, and I talked to anyone and everyone who _was_ or was a descendent _of _a hero. I know a…"

A loud bang and several screams from the crowd interrupted them and drew all attention to the festival below.

Several men were apparently looting the crowd. They were lead by a man in a green jump suit holding what appeared to be some sort of short silver baton. Lightning crackled around that baton and arched out to strike objects of his choosing.

Flash's face became serious. "Weather Wizard." He stated grimly. Looking to the 'arrows' he added. "You three aren't fast enough to dodge Weather Wizard's lightning. Take care of his goons, Bart…" he shook his head. ".._Kid Flash _and I'll take care of Weather Wizard's wand. After that he's fair game."

The 'arrows' nodded, two of them already reaching for their quiver while the third drew one of the many guns he carried on his person.

Barry looked back at Bart, who was standing uncertainly near the edge of the building.

"Ready to go Kid?" he asked, being careful to call Bart by the right name. Bart was Kid Flash now, and he had taken the mantle with Wally, Artemis, and Barry's blessing. It was time Barry started calling him by that name.

Kid Flash smiled and nodded, excited. This would officially be his first time out as Kid Flash. Together, the two raced over the edge of the building and down the side.

"Thisistotally_crash_!" he yelled to his grandfather at super speed, in what had been lovingly dubbed by all as 'speedster talk'.

Flash smiled at him and nodded. "Keepyourheadinthegame!" he yelled back, also using speedster talk.

He had to admit, it was fun having someone who's abilities were on par with his own. The version of speedster talk he'd employed with Wally, while still fast, was about half the speed he was currently using with Bart. Wally couldn't keep up with anything faster.

But that had never slowed the energetic teen down.

Flash had no doubt that Wally would someday surpass him in terms of speed, and he'd looked forward to handing down the mantle of the Flash to Wally when the time came. Even after Wally had retired, Barry had hoped. The fact that he'd never even get the _chance_ to offer that to Wally and find out what Wally's response be still hurt.

He shook his head. **_Keep your head in the game. _**He thought at himself.

Lighting arched down at them, and the two speedsters began to dodge. Weather Wizard didn't stand a chance! While the Flash distracted, Kid Flash zipped in from the side and kicked the wand right out of Weather Wizard's hands, sending it flying.

It had been a synch for the Flash to catch it while Kid Flash took the Weather Wizard down.

Police were already on the scene and Flash quickly spotted one holding a metal box in his hands. He dashed over and quickly dumped the crackling wand into the box, snapping the lid shut.

They had built the box back when Weather Wizard first became a problem. It was specially designed to dampen the effects of the wand, essentially neutralizing it.

He turned, grinning as he watched his grandson from the future drag Weather Wizard towards him and the police. Kid Flash answered with a matching grin of his own.

His first day on the job. He'd done good.

He knew he would've made Wally proud.

Brilliant white light suddenly enveloped him and Weather Wizard disappeared from his grasp. He turned his head wildly, stripping off his goggles in an attempt to see, but to no avail. He couldn't see, could hear.

He wasn't even entirely certain he could feel the ground beneath his feet.

"Flash?" he called. Whole seconds dragged by with no answer. He went into speed talk, calling at the top of his lungs. "GrandpaBarrywhereareyou? What'sgoingon?" He didn't receive an answer.

Flash watched in horror as white light enveloped his protégé and grandson.

No, please no!

He raced towards that ball of brilliant light, desperate to reach him in time. He could hear Bart's voice, and the boy sounded frightened, but it was as if Bart was a long ways off.

Flash couldn't make out the words.

And then it was gone, as if it had never been. Kid Flash was gone along with it, nothing left behind but an unconscious Weather Wizard and a pair of canary yellow goggles.

Flash slowed to a stop, disbelieving eyes arguing with his mind.

"No…" he whispered, tears welling up to soak the cheeks of his mask. "…not again."

He sank to his knees there on the pavement, starring at the spot Kid Flash had stood in a mere four seconds before. This was the second time he'd had to watch Kid Flash disappear in a flash of light.

It hadn't looked entirely the same as when Wally had faded from existence, but the similarities were there.

And as he felt Green Arrow kneel beside him and wrap a comforting arm around his shoulders, Barry Allen, the Flash…he wasn't entirely certain he was strong enough to do this again…

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DUN! Dun! dun! And there is victim numero dos! Here's your tissue box! [']

Review if you wanna see Jaime freak out over this!

Until next time...


	4. Who Trusts the Beetle?

God, so sorry it took so long. Finals s***!

Shout outs to: RockyLover, SevenSilences, RandomKitty101, The10Espada99, Daisy, and Ally Marton! You guys rock!

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ENJOY!

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**El Paso: July 12, 10:47 a.m.**

Jaime Reyes starred at the T.V. screen in shock and horror.

He'd been aimlessly flipping through the channels when he'd gotten a text from Bart, telling him that Flash and Kid Flash were about to kick the Weather Wizard's butt and it was probably going to be on the news if he would like to see the new Kid Flash's debut in Central.

Jaime had grinned, of course he would!

It had taken him a couple moments to find a news channel that was covering the story, but then he had settled in to watch as his hermano kicked the wand out of the Weather Wizard's hands and proceeded to take him down.

_"…George it's been some time since we've seen Kid Flash anywhere in the world, much less here in Central, not since the Neutron incident. But despite his long hiatus he seems to be in just as good a fighting form as ever…" _The pretty red headed news anchor stated.

The news crew were also shooting footage of Green Arrow, Red Arrow, and Arsenal taking the Weather Wizard's henchmen down, and while Jaime enjoyed it he couldn't help but spare a moment to think that Nightwing had been right to eject Arsenal from the team.

He knew Arsenal hadn't had an easy life, and to some degree he could understand his thinking, but that didn't excuse him for the stunts he'd pulled while he was on the team.

He just hoped that maybe working with Green Arrow and Red Arrow would teach Arsenal how to be a team player. Maybe someday he would actually make it back _on_ the team.

**_Based on current data concerning the Arsenal, that result is unlikely_**_._ The scarab silently informed him.

Jaime sighed. The scarab's voice in his head used to annoy the heck out of him. But ever since that night in Bialya he'd come to terms with it, and they were currently living under a somewhat steady truce of sorts.

At least the scarab was a little less homicidal than it used to be.

"Que estas haciendo Jaime?"

He turned and smiled at his little sister. Just because her grasp of English wasn't as good and he knew it would annoy her he answered in English. "Watching the news. My friend Bart lives in Central city, and they are showing Central's heroes on T.V."

Milagro gave him an irritated look but answered in her halting English. "May I watch with you?"

He chuckled and nodded, motioning her up onto the couch beside him. "Si Chiquita."

She giggled and hurriedly scrambled up beside him. And together the two had watched as the Weather Wizard's wand was placed in a box and Kid Flash dragged his defeated foe towards the police.

Then that light had enveloped Kid Flash and disappeared again, appearing and disappearing within a matter of several seconds, leaving behind nothing but the Weather Wizard and those bright red goggles.

"Jaime…?" Milagro whispered, her eyes wide. "Que pasó con el chico en amarillo?"

What happened to the boy in yellow…?

Jaime could only stare in shock at the screen.

His shock was apparently shared by the news anchor, as her voice was softer and had a breathless quality when she spoke now. _"It…It appears that Kid Flash has disappeared into a flash of light… The heroes don't seem to know what happened and… Oh my gosh I think the Flash is hurt!" _

The camera's zoomed in as the Flash fell to his knees.

The 'arrows' rushed to him, Red Arrow and Arsenal looking about for some clue as to who might have done this while Green Arrow crouched beside the Flash, wrapping an arm around him as he apparently checked him for injuries. When none were readily visible, he gently shook the speedster's shoulder, trying to rouse him.

After a long moment, Flash stumbled to his feet.

He seemed shaken and unsure of himself, stumbling over his own feet in a way he had never done before. When it became increasingly obvious that he couldn't walk a straight line on his own, Green Arrow pulled Flash's arm across his shoulders and began to lead him away.

The news anchor brushed her hair back behind her ear, her face pale and worried. _"Green Arrow and his protégé's are walking the Flash out of the square now. I'm not entirely sure what happened there George, but it seems that whatever happened to Kid Flash has affected the Flash as well…"_

"Jaime?"

He looked down at his little sister, the shock still clearly evident on his face. "I…I'm not sure Chiquita."

He quietly clicked the T.V. over to a cartoon channel she liked and rose. "I'm going out for a little while ok? I'll have my phone with me if Mami needs me."

Milagro nodded, watching her older brother worriedly as he pulled on his tennis shoes and headed for the door. She had never seen her big strong brother so shaken.

* * *

Outside, Jaime turned his steps towards the El Paso zeta tube.

But his thoughts were turned inward. "Explain." He murmured grimly, an edge of panic to his voice. "What just happened to Bart?"

**_Insufficient data to provide conclusive answer. _**The scarab answered.

"Theorize!" Jaime growled. "We owe our _lives _to Bart!"

The scarab was silent for several agonizing minutes. When it finally answered, there was a note of hesitancy to its voice he'd never heard before. **_Initial visual analysis suggests that the individual Bartholomew Allen was forcibly removed through a rift in the fabric of space. _**

Jaime stopped. "Forcibly removed…" he repeated stunned.

**_That is the most viable conclusion at this time. _**

"It looked similar to what happened to Wally…" Jaime hedged. "Is it possible that the two of them could still be alive?"

**_Negative. Though processes by which Wallace West and Bartholomew Allen's existence here were discontinued appear similar, distinct differences are present. Bartholomew Allen was removed. Wallace West, ceased. _**

Jaime sighed. "It was a thought."

He entered the zeta tube and the bright flash of light erupted around him, the computer calling out his designation.

_Recognize. Blue. Beetle. B. Two. Two. _

He entered the Watchtower to find Kaldur, M'Gann, La'gaan and Gar already there. Gar apparently had a question about Atlantis, and the two Atlantians were trying to answer it.

At the sound of Blue Beetle's designation, Gar looked up and grinned. "Am I the only one who thinks it's ironic that his designation is B22, his name has two 'B's in it, and 'B' is the second letter of the alphabet?"

"Not in the mood ese." Jaime growled. "Did any of you see the news from Central City yet?" They shook their heads and he quickly lead them to the nearest computer, keying his designation into it and pulling up the Central City news feed.

Footage of Kid Flash disappearing in a flash of light was playing again.

_"This was the scene only moments ago in Central City, where it appears Kid Flash might have paid a very high price for justice..." _The news commentator was saying.

Jaime glanced back at the others.

The older three looked floored. Gar didn't appear to entirely understand what he'd just seen.

Not yet

_"Whatever it was that took Kid Flash appears to have affected the Flash as well, as he had to be helped out of the town square by Green Arrow. At this time we have yet to receive word of the location or condition of either speedster." _The commentator continued, the relevant footage playing on the screen behind him.

His face was solemn as he added, _"Wherever they are, our prayers are with them." _

Gar flicked his tail in alarm. "Is…is what happened to Bart what I _think _just happened to Bart?" he asked, emerald eyes widening in dawning horror as what he had just seen hit home.

Jaime frowned grimly. "That's what I thought! But the scarab…"

_Recognize. Flash. Zero. Four. Green. Arrow. Zero. Eight. Superman. Zero. One. Red. Arrow. Two. One._

"…and I'm not going to do it!"

The four protégé's whirled. Flash stormed out of the zeta tube, angrier than a hornet. Behind him came Green Arrow, Superman, and Red Arrow. Green Arrow caught his elbow, trying to stop him.

"Barry, we just…"

The scarlet speedster whipped around faster than the eye could follow, ripping off his cowl as he did so. "_No_ Ollie! I'm not going to just sit on my hands while you guys try to figure out what the heck happened! My grandson and protégé is _gone!_ This is the _second_ time I've had to watch a relative in a Kid Flash costume disappear in a flash of light. He could be _dead _for all I know! Do you know what that's _like?!_"

Oliver froze, a stricken look coming across his face.

Red Arrow stepped between them, his eyes narrowed as he grasped Barry's arm.

"He _does _know Barry." He answered, his voice intense as he willed the blonde to think beyond his own pain for just a second. "Both Speedy and Artemis were found alive later, but he _thought _they were dead. He _does_ know. And much as I hate to admit it, until we find out who or what is picking off the speedsters, Ollie and Supes Sr. are right. We need you to lay low for a while."

Barry was losing steam in the face of this cold logic, but he shook his head stubbornly nonetheless. "I can't lay low. The rogues will have a field day with Central! And if there's any chance that Bart and Wally are still alive…!"

"There isn't."

All eyes settled on Jaime, who blushed and shuffled uncomfortably under their gaze. He was glad of his armor, it hid his blush very well.

But the Flash had taken off his cowl, he reasoned. It was only fair the Blue Beetle returned the favor.

His armor retracted, leaving him face to face with the speedster. "There isn't a chance." He said softly. "Not for Wally. But we might still _be_ able to save Bart."

Barry's eyes narrowed, and Jaime could just _see_ the thought process going through the speedsters head at the speed of light.

Wally had been killed in action as Kid Flash while fighting the Reach. Bart had been wearing a Kid Flash costume. Bart had helped foil the Reach by helping knock both Green and Blue Beetle off Mode. Jaime still essentially had an agent of the Reach settled between his shoulder blades, irrevocably attached to the boy's spine. Now here was Jaime, claiming to know a little more about what was going on.

Even Jaime had to admit, when you thought about it in that light it looked pretty bad.

**_Readings of vital signs indicate that the Flash will soon attack. Recommended course of action: re-engage armor and take flight, using sonic cannon to neutralize the threat. _**

Jaime sighed and shook his head, so much for the scarabs non-homicidal streak. "I can't do that." He murmured softly under his breath.

Glancing up he saw Superman cock his head. He'd heard, and he didn't entirely understand. Jaime just hoped the man of steel wouldn't call him out on it.

Superman's eyes slipped past Jaime and he arched an eyebrow, as if in silent question.

Jaime turned his head slightly and glimpsed Conner out of the corner of his eye. The clone gave the barest shake of his head, and Superman nodded. He would ask later.

Jaime couldn't have been more grateful.

"And how would you know that?" Barry growled.

Jaime didn't flinch away from the blonde's tone, nor did he fail to meet the older man's gaze, warm brown silently staring at pale blue. "Barry, I was there when Wally died." He said gently. "And today I saw footage of Bart on the news all the way out in El Paso. I had my scarab run visual analysis on both. According to my scarab, 'Bartholomew Allen' was 'removed' from this plane, like he was sucked through to somewhere else. 'Wallace West'…."

He bit his lip, but he didn't look away. "Wallace West, 'ceased'."

Barry visibly flinched at the word 'ceased, but he didn't back down. In fact, mention of the scarab just intensified his glare. "And you trust that…_thing_?"

And there was the root of most, if not all, of Jaime's problems.

Jaime sighed and hung his head. "At first…no. The scarab and I used to argue with each other a lot, especially back at the beginning. He and I have _way _different opinions on what a threat is and how it should be neutralized. He's even tried to take the decision out of my hands several times."

He looked down at his hands. "After Green Beetle tricked me into going back on Mode, I still argued with him, because I had to watch while he played puppeteer with my body. Times when I was home with my family as Jaime Reyes were probably the worst. I was so afraid that my sister Milagro would call the scarab out and get herself blasted that I actually coached him through responses."

He shook his head and looked to Barry, his hands forming fists at his side. "It didn't take me long to figure out the scarab wasn't pulling my strings either though. The scarab was my controller, the puppeteer was the chairman or whoever was on the other end telling the scarab what to do and say. My scarab was just as helpless as I was to say no, all scarabs are. But mine is unique in that it _had_ to be forced, rather than willingly submitting to Reach control."

His eyes were hard as he finished. "Throughout all of this, the scarab has never once lied to me. He's offered some pretty bad advice in terms of dealing with 'potential threats', he's a pretty paranoid bug, but when it comes to statements of fact he's always told me the truth to the best of his abilities based on the data he has. When new data comes to light, he corrects himself."

Barry shook his head. "But it's a Reach agent!" he shouted.

"_Was!_" Jaime shouted back just as vehemently.

The scarlet speedster was suddenly right in front of him, pale blue eyes snapping. "Prove it."

Jaime starred at the blonde for a moment then looked down, frowning. "Any ideas ese?" he asked the scarab, glimpsing Barry's confused look out of the corner of his eye.

**_If the Flash wishes proof of our physical bond you need only refer him to the Atom and the Bumble Bee who attempted to separate us. But if he wishes tangible evidence of an intangible bond, there is nothing that can be done. That cannot be provided._**

Jaime smiled. Regardless of what the scarab could or could not provide, he'd just given Jaime an idea.

"The scarab and I are tied together." He stated. "Physically, and mentally. We've been together for a little over a year. _Yes_ we've argued. _Yes_ the reach used my scarab to control me. And yet in the end we _still_ pulled together to destroy Black Beetle's scarab. We _are _one, and implying that my scarab had something to do with Bart's disappearance is the same as saying I blasted him to god knows where. _Yes_ I trust my scarab, because over the past year we've gotten to be friends. As far as I'm concerned, he's a part of me."

He folded his arms and glowered up at the speedster. "Bart is one of my best friends, and I'll gladly help. But if you've got any qualms about my loyalty you better lock me up and come up with a _really _good excuse for my parents, because I'm going to do anything and everything I can to help find him and bring him back home."

The speedster eyed him, and Jaime held his ground, trying not to let his nervousness show. It looked like Barry had just about decided to answer when the computers chimed out a new arrival.

_Recognize. Batman. Zero. Two. Robin. B. Two. Zero. Batgirl. B. One. Six. Nightwing. B. Zero. One._

The dark knight stalked into the tower, his three protégés at his side. He paused for a moment, then nodded to the teens before turning and making his way towards one of the doors.

"Green Arrow. Flash, come with me."

Barry glared at the dark knight, opening his mouth to argue.

Batman stopped and glanced back over his shoulder, eyes narrowing in the infamous Bat glare. Barry withered under that gaze. Heroes and villains alike across the globe, feared that look. Because whoever was the target of that look was about to be in serious trouble.

"_Now_ Barry."

The speedster sighed and quietly followed him from the room, trudging out at a sedate human pace. Green Arrow wasn't far behind them. The other heroes watched them go.

Only once they were certain the others were gone did they dare comment on the scene they had just witnessed.

Jaime audibly let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, and his shoulders sagged with relief. This probably wasn't over with Barry, but for the moment it had gone on hiatus.

He realized the 'bat kids' were approaching and he gave them a tired smile.

Robin gave a soft whistle and shook his head. "I don't think I've _ever _seen Barry so upset."

Nightwing made a face. "I have. But it doesn't happen often."

Jaime shrugged. "Can you blame him? He just lost a second kid Flash, and to him it looks pretty much the same as the way he lost the first one. Bright flash of light, boom, Kid Flash is gone." He flushed. "I don't think I helped matters either by telling him it was different. Bart was taken. Wally just…ceased."

No matter how many times he said it, he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the idea. He hadn't know the jovial speedster well, but he'd seemed like a good friend.

Nightwing nodded. "I take it you ran a visual analysis with your scarab?" Jaime nodded. "Good. We'll need all the help we can get tracking down this guy."

Kaldur cocked his head. "I thought you were going to put aside the life of a hero for a short time."

Nightwing winced. "I have. I haven't been out patrolling since I left. But I'm also good with computers. There's no definitive proof of it yet, but if someone is targeting the speedsters, Batman needs all the help we can give him. So while Robin's your go to in the field, I'll be filling in as a sort of tech support from here or the Bat Cave till this is over."

Kaldur nodded. "We will be glad of your assistance."

Nightwing gave a soft, sad smile. "You're always welcome to it, whether I'm a hero or not. All you have to do is ask."

In his head, he could practically hear Wally's rather leading comment alluding to his identity. Probably something along the lines of 'yeah, he'd help even if he was a circus performer!'

Nightwing had never understood why the speedster did that, Batman would surely have both their hides if he ever found out.

Garfield was giving him a suspicious look, and the original bird smiled. "What?"

"I thought we agreed, no more faking anyone's death for a year. You sure you don't have something to tell us?" he asked, his expression suspicious. Yet there was a hopeful look to his eyes, and Nightwing hated to disappoint him.

"Sorry Gar. There's no grandiose secret plot this time." He answered sadly, ruffling the boy's dark green hair.

"So what do we do next?" Gar asked, shuffling his feet nervously. "How are we gonna find Bart?"

Kaldur gave him a reassuring smile. Garfield was their youngest, and by far their most naïve. He would need their reassurance the most now.

"We will do whatever we can." He answered. "Starting with the scene of Bart's disappearance. Squads will be sent to examine the city square and speak with the Weather Wizard and his men. Jaime and Nightwing will both analyze the video footage to learn everything they can."

The others nodded.

Eyes hard and determined, Jaime stepped closer to Nightwing. "Let's go find Bart."

* * *

Yeah, I know. Not exactly the freak out I was hoping for, that came more from Barry. Hope you liked it!

Review if you want to know where the victims are going!

Until next time...


	5. Where Are We?

Hey guys! Sorry! I know I kind of fell off the face of the map! I give you my humblest apologies (cringes) please don't hurt me!

Shout outs to: RockyLover, Lack-4-a-better-name, yuucutie101, and Anon?(not entirely sure what your gettin' at... You sure you posted to the right story?) Enjoy your cookie's and the newest chapter! (::)

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ENJOY!

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 12, 5:02 p.m.**

Artemis curled into a tighter ball against the wall, cuddling further into her blanket.

She'd awoke to find herself alone in a cell. The cell was large, incredibly so, and could probably have held twenty people without too much trouble. Made with huge stone blocks and a flagstone floor, it gave the impression of being in a castle dungeon. It even had metal rings set into the walls. It was cold, and damp.

She could hear water dripping somewhere, but she had yet to find it.

The only source of light was a pale orange oval of thick old glass set in the center of the ceiling, about a foot and a half in diameter. As far as she could see, there was no door. Just a square room of massive, rough hewn stones. She shifted position again, producing a scratching sound against the stone, and grumbled in annoyance.

That was another thing.

Upon waking, she'd discovered that she'd been fitted with an inhibitor collar and a set of hand cuffs. From what she could tell by feeling it with her fingers, the collar was pretty standard. Nothing really to write home about, and no way for her to get it off herself. The cuffs were another story.

These were probably the weirdest cuffs she had ever seen.

It looked like someone had poked her hands through holes in the front and back of a pair of thin walled metal cubes, one black and the other white, somehow locking them around her wrists. The sides and bottoms of the cubes had been cut away, leaving her wrists open to the air while still restraining them, and the cubes had been connected together to form a pair of really effective handcuffs.

So far she hadn't been able to figure out how to get them open. Aside from a small metal ring attached to the back of the cubes where white and black met, they appeared to be all one solid piece. No key hole, nothing.

She shook her head. Even Nightwing would have trouble getting out of this one.

She sighed and tried to cuddle down even further into her blanket. Like it or not- until an opportunity for escape presented itself, or until the league or the team found her, she was going to just have to tough it out here.

A rumble suddenly sounded and she jerked her head up in surprise. Her opportunity might be showing up sooner than she expected!

She quickly scrambled to her feet, the blanket slipping from her shoulders. Not that she cared. Her head was on a swivel as she attempted to find the source of the sound. It wasn't that hard to spot.

Not more than five feet away from her, one of those massive stone blocks that made up the wall was sliding backwards.

It wasn't one of the ones along the floor. This one was about three blocks above, putting it at about chest height on her. She slowly crept closer. Even if she couldn't escape this time around maybe she could learn something about her captors, namely who they were. Maybe what they wanted with Artemis Crock, mild mannered college student.

She gave a silent snort at the thought of _anyone _ever describing her as mild _anything, _much less mild mannered.

The stone backed up about two feet or so then stopped, having apparently backed up as far as it was going to go. She edged closer…closer. She could hear a rustling sound on the other side, like someone was rustling several thin sheets of stiff plastic together. She could hear a sort of high pitched gravelly voice muttering something, but it sounded like nonsense syllables.

If it was words the speaker was using, it was no language she had ever heard.

She had almost gotten close enough to peer up into the opening when that voice said one final word. There was a soft thump, then a familiar red and gold figure slid head first out of the hole in the wall to land heavily on the floor with a soft grunt.

Artemis immediately scrapped her original plan, hurrying instead to the side of the fallen speedster.

He was stirring ever so slightly, a soft moan escaping his lips. She very gently rolled him over to lay on his back. The first thing she noticed was the lack of brilliant red peeking through auburn bangs.

His goggles were missing.

The second thing she noticed was the fact that he'd been fitted with an inhibitor collar and a set of those weird black and white cube handcuffs, just like the ones enclosing her own wrists.

A rumbling noise sounded behind her and she glanced back to see the stone sliding back into place. She shrugged, smothering a growl of annoyance.

Nothing she could do about it now.

She finger combed the boy's longer auburn hair back out of his eyes, wondering how people like him and Nightwing could stand it having bangs. Having her long hair hanging down in her face always drove her crazy! That was why she kept it in a pony tail most of the time.

The boy in front of her groaned, bringing her thoughts back from their tangent.

"B…" she shook her head irritably, no giving away secret identities! Though the fact that her uniform had been laying in a heap on the floor when she'd been taken probably meant her cover was blown.

"Kid Flash? Kid Flash, are you alright?" She called gently.

Bart groaned again and opened hazel eyes, blinking up at her owlishly. "…Artemis? Wh-what's going on? Wha…"

He tried to lift his hand to cradle his head and trailed off when he realized his hands were somehow connected. He starred at the cuffs, then looked to her in confusion. "Um…I have no idea what's going on?"

Artemis couldn't help but laugh at his questioning statement, the completely floored look on his face was to priceless. "You and me both." She answered. "I'm just glad I've got company."

Bart chuckled. "Glad to be of service."

"Feel like sitting up?"

"Please."

She clasped his cuffed hands with her own and hauled him up into a sitting position. She saw his hazel eyes sweep the stone room, taking in dungeon-esc quality of the room and it's apparent lack of exits.

"We're pretty much trapped here." She stated flatly.

Bart nodded. "So I see." He chuckled. "Don't worry, I doubt they've engineered these walls against a speedster. Just let me get these cuffs off…"

"Bart wait!"

She wasn't quick enough. He looked down at the cube cuffs on his hands and his eyes widened in shock when he realized he couldn't vibrate his hands out of them, that his hands weren't vibrating, period. His hands flew to his throat, fingers exploring the all too familiar shape of an inhibitor collar around his neck.

"…I am _so _moded…"

Artemis winced. "I tried to warn you."

Bart grimaced and nodded. "You did….so, what do we do now?"

Artemis sighed and walked back to her corner where the blanket lay, discarded. "Now? We sit and wait for an opportunity to get out on our own, or for someone to come break us out." She eyed him critically, then groaned and put her face in her hands.

Bart moved closer, worried. The cell was cold and she was wearing short shorts, was it possible she'd gotten sick? "What's wrong?"

She gave him a look through her fingers. "You're a speedster."

He frowned. "Last I checked."

She rubbed her face tiredly and retrieved her blanket from the floor. "So that means time moves slower for you, correct?"

"…yeah."

She nodded, satisfied. "So that means your well of patience is pretty much nil. Whoever these guys are, they've fed me three times now. If it's the one a day schedule I think it is, we could be here for a while. Which means I'm going to have to put up with a speedster bored out of his brain."

Bart kept his mouth shut.

He had more patience than then most people gave him credit for, and he liked to think he had more than the other speedsters, but there was no denying her logic.

Trapped in this little cell for days on end was going to drive him to boredom, and her up a wall.

She sighed and flipped the blanket over her shoulders. Sitting down against the wall, she gave him a stern though somehow resigned look. "If you promise not to fidget for at least a half an hour so I can get some sleep, I'll share the blanket. This cell gets cold pretty fast."

She would've shared anyway, she wasn't some heartless witch.

But there was no need for him to know that.

Bart shuffled nervously, apparently giving her offer some thought. He wasn't even entirely certain he _could _hold still that long. He shrugged and smiled. Only one way to find out. "I'll try," he promised. "But I can't make any guarantees."

Artemis nodded and motioned him to come on then.

It was a little tough due to their cuffed hands but in the end they managed, both swaddled in the thick recesses of the voluminous folds of the fleece blanket.

Despite what she had said about wanting to get some sleep, Artemis was amused to discover that Bart drifted off first, the speedster's head unconsciously finding her shoulder.

A pang touched her heart as her mind's eye replaced auburn hair with brilliant red, and dropped a light dusting of freckles across the boy's nose and cheeks.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall.

Time moved very slowly for speedsters. It always had. That and, in Wally's case, the accelerated metabolism had always been the curse of the speedsters. In the five years she and Wally had been a couple, she'd come to accept that.

But she'd never understood it.

Sitting here in this dank stone cell with the new Kid Flash asleep on her shoulder and her mind playing tricks on her, she was certain that she was going to get a taste of what it meant for a speedster…

…when the world you live in slows to a crawl.

* * *

Kind of Artemis centric this time around, but don't worry, we'll get back to the kidnapping shortly! Who do you think is next on the hit parade?

Review if you want the next kidnapping to _hurt_! (lol, that's kind of a morbid statement)

Until next time (which shall be soon I promise)...


	6. Small Prize

Here ya go, chapter five just like I promised ya!

Shout out to RandomKitty101, who said this abduction should hurt. I agree, so...without further ado, bring on the hurt!

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ENJOY!

* * *

**Watchtower: July 13, 9:03 a.m.**

"Sorry Kaldur. If there was something to find down there, it's completely gone beyond recall." M'Gann reported sadly.

This was the second time her squad had gone to look at Central City square, and it was the second time they'd come home with reports of failure.

They had investigated the square the first time within' two hours time of Bart's disappearance. There had been nothing there for them to find with their eyes, ears, nose, or mind. Between M'Gann's telepathy, Conner's enhanced senses, and Gar's nose in the shape of a bloodhound they'd given that square quite the going over.

Kaldur had sent them out again today, this time accompanied by Blue Beetle and Bumble Bee, along with some science equipment to take readings for any anomalies.

Again, they'd been unable to find anything weird.

"I would've noted something, but there wasn't anything there _to_ note." Beast Boy added gloomily.

Jaime sent a silent command to his scarab. His hand was engulfed in machinery for a moment as the scarab proceeded to fabricate what he'd asked for, then it retracted. In his hand, was a ball.

He lightly laid his hand on Gar's shoulder.

Gar glanced up, deep green eyes searching, and Jaime held up the ball. "Wanna play? Just till they decide our next move?" He asked, pasting a smile he didn't feel on his face.

Gar smiled and nodded. In the space of an instant he'd morphed into a long legged sight hound. He yapped excitedly and raced across the briefing room, looking back over his shoulder eagerly.

Nightwing sighed, fingers flying across the keyboards of three different holographic panels. "Pretty much the same here." He frowned as a new, smaller window popped up on his screen. "Kaldur, you assigned Tigress to Alpha squad last, right?"

The Atlantian frowned and nodded. "Yes. They completed their mission, though there was no conclusive evidence to be found. Why?"

"Was she injured?"

Kaldur's frown deepened. "No. Artemis returned with the others, safe and sound."

Nightwing stopped typing and looked back worriedly at his friend. "Artemis hasn't checked in since then." His fingers started flying again, the small window disappearing and being replaced with three more. "She hasn't shown up for classes for the past four days… and the lamp in her living room has been on the entire time…"

Across the room Gar's head snapped up, ears pricking. His jaw went slightly slack and the ball tumbled to the floor, completely forgotten. Jaime frowned.

"Gar?"

The emerald hound wavered uncertainly, a quiet whine growing in his throat, hackles raising a little in his unease.

Jamie moved closer. "Gar?"

The green hound suddenly froze, ears pricking up high. He suddenly morphed back up into humanoid shape, eyes wide and terrified.

Jaime frowned, this was a form he had never seen before.

Unlike the half monkey hybrid form Gar usually wore, this one was completely human, though still green. The cut of his hair had changed and his normally large, innocent eyes seemed somehow even larger than usual, and not just out of fear. They were just big. The boy looked so small.

So vulnerable.

Jaime picked up the ball, keeping his movements slow so as not to startle his younger friend. "You ok chico?" Gar made no answer. "Gar?"

Gar ignored him, looking towards his sister. "…M'Gann?" he asked, shifting uncertainly.

Alerted by her adopted little brother's voice, M'Gann turned. She took one look at the completely human, albeit green form he had taken on and she immediately knew that something was wrong. Gar didn't use his original form unless afraid or upset, his emotions too out of control to hold any form other than his own.

Now that she was paying attention she could feel the fear and uncertainty running through her little brother from clear across the room.

"Gar what is it?" she asked anxiously, already moving towards him.

Gar shook his head, rubbing his arms as he looked nervously around. "Something's wrong…I don't know what it is…" He suddenly froze and screamed in terror, and an instant later a white light enveloped him.

"Gar!" M'Gann flew at the white light, desperate to rescue her little brother before he too disappeared into the unknown where she couldn't find him. But she wasn't fast enough. She didn't know why she thought she would be, after all, the Flash hadn't been. What chance did she have?

But she still had to try.

Try.

Try and fail.

She dropped to her knees, her hands covering her mouth in shock and grief as tears poured down her cheeks. Her eyes glowed silver green as she frantically searched with her mind for _any _sign of her little brother's presence. The light in her eyes slowly faded.

Nothing.

Off to one side, she could hear Blue Beetle swearing in Spanish. Apparently he too had made a grab for Gar, and had come away empty handed.

All that was left of Gar was the ball clutched in Jaime's hand.

"…Gar…" she whimpered and broke down into sobs, shoulders shaking as those sobs racked her frame. A pair of warm arms wrapped around her and she turned into them, burying her face in the shoulder of whoever it was. It could've been Conner, La'Gann, Kaldur, or maybe even Nightwing.

She couldn't have cared less.

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 13, 9:05 a.m.**

The small green form flopped to the ground on the flagstone floor, seemingly lifeless, as it didn't move again.

Three sets of eyes gazed down at the small emerald boy, sizing him up, as if he were a form of product that they could purchase or sell.

Three hands slowly drew back from glowing gemstones set in a formation of natural rock.

Behind the motionless boy, a great arch of natural black stone glimmered in the light of the portal it contained. The portal itself was made of myriad flecks of light, glowing in every color imaginable as they slowly shifted in an ever turning spiral.

As the hands left the gemstones, the glow faded away, leaving those flecks a dull grey that glittered in the dim light as they continued to move.

"I think we damaged this one." A nasal voice murmured.

"Perhaps." Another murmured back.

See to him." A third, deeper voice rumbled.

Figures moved from the shadows, creeping toward the fallen boy. The light was too indistinct to truly make out their forms, but their movements were not human.

If he had been conscious, the sound of quiet rustles, clicks, and the hushed sound of metal sliding over oiled metal would have come to the boy's ears. But he remained motionless.

A high pitched, and yet somehow gravelly voice grated out something in a strange language.

"Ah, good." The nasal voice murmured. "He breaths. It would not do to lose such a valuable commodity."

A warm breeze ruffled the boy's emerald tresses as the inhuman figures from the shadows quietly fastened a collar around his throat, and cuffs around his wrists. The second voice seemed to have moved closer to the boy.

He snorted in disdain. "A small prize."

"Content yourself brother." The third voice rumbled. "Our strength is not yet sufficient, but it grows by the day. We will soon be free to do as we wish, and none will stand before us."

Another warm breeze touched the unconscious boy's hair, and the deeper voice seemed to move closer as well. "And do not judge him by his size alone. Sometimes the greatest of powers may be found in the smallest of vessels….Also, I did not think it _wise_ to let this one alone for long. Did you not observe him when we drew near?"

The nasal voice spoke again, sounding almost nervous. "He sensed us! He knew we were coming well before the others!"

"Indeed." The deeper voice rumbled back. "I doubt that there could be anything done that would hinder us, but it would be ill advised to leave them with a means of detecting our approach."

The second voice sighed. "Agreed." He murmured grudgingly. "But our next target will be _my_ choice." To the servants he added, "Take him."

The three voices fell silent, watching as the boy was unceremoniously dragged away by his ankles. The green form soon disappeared into the shadows.

"Are we agreed?" the second voice asked, the tone demanding an immediate answer.

Silence reigned for several long moments. Finally both the deep and nasal voices sighed, and answered in unison.

"We are agreed. The next target is yours to choose…"

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There you go, you have now gotten your first glimpse of this fic's villians! And when you finally learn who they are, you'll be surprised to discover that you know them!

Review! Or I shall sic the Batman on you!

Until next time...


	7. From the Mind of a Dog

For those who wondered...

Shout out's to my mother brother and sister, who support my writing and very patiently let me read this aloud to them in the car so they can beta my stories... Without them, these stories would exist only in my mind's eye...

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ENJOY!

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**Undisclosed Location: July 13, 9:30 a.m. **

"Artemis…"

The blonde frowned, forehead scrunching. She didn't want to wake up, not yet. She was so warm and comfortable. Granted she was in an odd position, as she usually didn't sleep sitting up, but still…

"Artemis, wake up."

Artemis' eyes snapped open. She remembered. She remembered where she was, who she was with. Someone had taken her from her dog, taken her from her home.

Bart had apparently been taken too. The second Kid Flash was here with her. He was the one calling her name. She looked at said speedster now, currently cuddled up in the blanket with her.

"KF? What's going on?" she asked, the original Robin's nickname for Kid Flash sliding past her teeth before she could even think about it.

He gave her a confused look. "KF?"

She shook her head. "Short for Kid Flash. Nightwing came up with it back when he was Robin. Now _what_?"

"There'sthisweirdrumblingnoiseand…"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, like by at least a _hundred miles_ an hour. I may've dated a speedster for five years but that doesn't mean my mind sped up through _association_. I can't understand speed talk."

Bart took a deep breath and nodded, jerking his head toward the other end of their cell. "There was this weird rumbling noise and I was wondering if you knew what it was." He repeated, at a much slower, though still accelerated pace.

At least this time she could catch enough to understand.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked past him. "That sound means they opened a door somewhere in this cell. One of the blocks just slides out the back of the wall. It's probably feeding time."

As if her words were the cue, Bart's stomach chose that second to growl.

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

Bart blushed and gave her an uncertain smile. "Sorry. Haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday."

She starred at him in shock. "_Yesterday morning_? Kid, aren't you _starving_?!"

Bart winced. "I spent most of my life starving Arty. It's like I told Blue, it's scavenger rights." He shrugged. "Besides, only one speedster's ever had the super speed metabolism problem."

Artemis winced at the reference to Wally.

Bart hurriedly backtracked. "Artemis, I'm sorry…That was _totally _not crash!"

A thump suddenly drew their attention. Instead of the food Artemis had predicted, yet another body had been shoved through the whole to land on the cold flagstone floor. The two heroes leapt to their feet, hurrying to the side of the unmoving figure.

"Who is it?" asked Bart, squinting in the dim light.

Artemis awkwardly gathered the small figure into her arms, the cuffs hindering her as she attempted to cradle him. She starred down into the unconscious pale green face of M'Gann's little brother. She had met the boy on several occasions, but she'd never really had the chance to get to know him well, as he'd joined the team after she and Wally had retired.

But from what little she had seen, she had decided she liked the energetic little shape shifter.

She held him closer against her chest, attempting to get some warmth back into the boy's small body. M'Gann loved her little brother. She would be crushed if anything happened to him…

"It's Gar…"

* * *

**Palo Alto: July 13, 5:30 p.m. **

"Artemis?"

Nightwing quietly pushed the door open farther, pocketing his lock picks. He cast a worried look back at the squad behind him. They were in civvies as well.

After they had exhausted every option they could think of regarding Gar's disappearance, Kaldur had agreed that it would be wise to check on all team and league members.

While the team tracked down every hero on earth by league com link or by cell numbers for the non-league members (courtesy of the paranoid Bat- Family), a small squad had been dispatched to check on Artemis, who had not answered her phone since July fourth, and hadn't been seen since the evening of July eighth.

The squad consisted of Nightwing himself, Kaldur, M'Gann, and Jaime.

There had been some debate over whether they should bring Jaime with them, in case Artemis had been taken and there was something his scarab could tell them, or whether they should leave him with the rest of the team up in the Watchtower to analyze the footage of Gar's disappearance.

The arrival of Batman and the Flash in the missions room had settled the matter.

Nightwing slowly entered the apartment, eyes sweeping the empty living room. The lights were still on, just like the electric bill he'd hacked had indicated.

"Artemis?"

An angry growl suddenly erupted, making Nightwing backpedal a couple of steps, his hand flying to the hidden utility belt under his jacket. But he stopped himself, eyes lighting on the snowy white Pit Bull laying on the couch.

"Wait here a minute." He murmured to the others over his shoulder. He slowly approached the dog, keeping his hands where they could be clearly seen. "Hey Brucely. It's just me. You remember me don't you?"

Brucely's growl quieted after a long moment, and he hesitantly wagged his tail. Nightwing smiled, carefully sitting down on the couch beside the dog. "Good boy." He whispered, gently stroking the dog's short fur. "You can come in now." He called toward the door. "But do it slowly."

While his teammates cautiously entered the room under Brucely's suspicious eyes, Nightwing carefully studied the dog. Brucely's fur wasn't as soft as it usually was, in fact it was dry, and a little brittle. The dog was curled up on the couch, Artemis's Tigress costume twisted in a spiral underneath him.

He could hear his friends fanning out throughout the small apartment, searching for some sign of Artemis. It wouldn't take them long.

But he kept his eyes on the Pit Bull, stroking him reassuringly.

"Nightwing, there's no sign of her." M'Gann stated, coming back from the kitchen. Kaldur and Jaime returned from the other areas of the apartment with the same result.

Jaime shook his head in frustration. "Who are these guys? And how the heck are they doing this?" he gestured helplessly. "I mean, if it was the Reach I'd understand them grabbing Bart and Artemis, the two of them played a big role in bringing them down. But why Gar? Why not grab me? Or Kaldur? Dios, even Nightwing would make more sense as a target, he was the one who orchestrated the whole thing!"

Nightwing sighed, scratching Brucely between the shoulder blades. "How about it boy?" he murmured tiredly. "You got any ideas?" Brucely gave a soft whine, laying his head down dejectedly on Nightwing's knee. Nightwing smiled sadly, stroking the Pit Bull's blocky head. "Yeah, me neither."

Jaime frowned. "Maybe he can help us ese. M'Gann, can you read the dog's mind by any chance? Maybe he could help us figure out what happened!"

M'Gann chewed her lip uncertainly, still shaken by Gar's kidnapping. "I don't know. I've never tried to talk to an animal…aside from Gar…"

Kaldur placed a webbed hand on her shoulder. "Will you try?"

The Martian girl took a deep breath to center herself and nodded. She knelt in front of the snowy white dog and gently cradled Bucely's head in her hands. Her eyes glowed silver green, and she bowed her head so her forehead rested against his.

For several long minutes, there was no response.

Brucely suddenly growled, hackles rising and lips drawing back from his teeth as he suddenly went taught as a bowstring. His eyes were focused straight ahead, fixed on something only he could see.

Ostensibly, M'Gann had accessed the memory they wanted.

Nightwing tensed, continuing to nervously pet him. "Um… M'Gann? Brucely's living proof Pit Bulls aren't all vicious fighting machines…but you _do_ realize Pit Bulls can live up to their bad rep when you tick them off, right?"

M'Gann didn't answer.

* * *

**Inside the Mind of Brucely: July 13, 5:40 p.m.**

For Brucely, the date was July eighth. And it was 12:45 a.m.

The Martian silently watched through Brucely's eyes as his mistress returned from wherever it was she had gone, completely soaking wet.

It was unusual that she'd come in through the window, but she'd left that way so he supposed it was ok.

He barked excitedly to welcome her home, wagging his tail extra hard just for her. His master had yet to return home, and he knew that she had been lonely without her mate.

And he loved his mistress!

So until his master returned, Brucely was throwing in the extra effort to make sure his mistress knew that!

He waited until she'd closed the window, then darted forward to jump up and greet her. Licking at her hands and nipping at those strange false skins affectionately.

"Hey Brucely…" she murmured tiredly.

He yapped excitedly, dancing around her feet until he made her smile. She bent down and scratched his ears, eliciting a happy groan, and she smiled wider.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you to boy."

He followed her into the bedroom, where she changed skins. It didn't surprise him when she grabbed one of his master's false skins. Back before one or the other had started disappearing for long periods of time, she had often stolen his skins.

He pretended to be upset, but both she and Brucely knew he never really minded.

From there he had followed her into the living room. She watched the box with the magic pictures for a while, but she just kept getting sadder and sadder. Finally, she turned the box off and cried.

Brucely hopped up on the couch, trying to get her attention. His mistress took the hint and grabbed him, crying into his shoulder. He whined sympathetically and licked at whatever skin was within his reach. It seemed to help.

Then he felt it.

He hopped off the couch, growling as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

M'Gann could feel it too. Just an overwhelming sense of _wrongness._ As if her body had all of a sudden gone cold from head to toe.

As the Pit Bull paced, she watched as his whole world seemed to skew in terms of senses.

Nothing smelled right, everything was tinged with the scent of mildew and rot. Then sounds became odd, resounding as if off of cavern walls. A bitter taste was in his mouth, and it seemed as if the world around him was getting brighter and brighter.

Things finally became too bright to see, everything coming to a head all at once!

Then the light was gone, and all the weird wrongness's went with it.

So did his mistress…

* * *

**Palo Alto: July 13, 6:05 p.m.**

Brucely suddenly gave a vicious snarl, lunging toward M'Gann, teeth bared and snapping. He didn't know what she'd done, but she'd made his mistress disappear all over again.

She'd taken his mistress from him a second time!

M'Gann didn't seem to notice, instictively shifting her density so that the dog passed right through her, much to his evident confusion. She just sat there, staring at the now empty spot on the couch, apparently in shock.

Nightwing hurriedly caught Brucely by the collar, murmuring soothingly to the dog and petting him until he calmed. Kaldur and Jaime meanwhile moved to check on M'Gann.

"M'Gann? Are you alright?" Jaime asked anxiously. His hand passed right through her. He looked worriedly to Kaldur. "How are we supposed to help her if we can't touch her?"

Kaldur was silent for a moment, then looked to Nightwing. The original boy wonder nodded and reached for his belt. From one of the pockets he drew a small Zippo lighter. He flicked it open and lit it, watching M'Gann carefully.

The Martian jerked, her density reverting back to normal in a sudden rush.

Nightwing held it a few seconds longer to make sure she would stay solid, then flicked the lighter closed, extinguishing the flame. Kaldur laid a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

He watched her, concerned. "Are you alright?"

M'Gann blinked and seemed to come back to herself a little. "Yeah." She starred at Brucely sitting on the floor beside Nightwing, then looked back to Kaldur.

"They took Artemis. And Brucely saw it coming…"

* * *

DUN! Dun! dun!...

Review!

Until next time...


	8. Um Where's the?

New chapter ladies and germs! Hope you like it!

Shout out's to the awe smacking awesomeness of: Soccernin19, Guest, and TV-Luvva! Have a cyber cookie fellas and enjoy your new chapter! (::)

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 14, 5:30 a.m. **

"Mmm…"

A soft moan disturbed the silence of the cell. The first thing Gar was aware of was the soft warmth that surrounded him. He nuzzled into the soft blanket with a contented sigh. Then the second thing came to his notice.

The sound of water dripping somewhere.

That wasn't right. He frowned, bleary viridian eyes slowly opening on dimly lit rough hewn stone. Ok, that _definitely _wasn't right!

Then, to top off the weirdness, something under the blanket pressed against his cheek _stirred_.

Gar froze, eyes flickering intently over the stone cell that held him. No door. No windows. No way for anything short of an amoeba to get out, and going out as an amoeba would take forever. And apparently there was something alive on the other side of the blanket he was wrapped in, positioned so that he was lying on top of it.

The blanket behind him shifted, and Gar felt as if he were going to have a panic attack.

He was surrounded! There was something alive on the other side of the blanket _behind _him as well! Whatever it was shifted again, and a warm, soft weight settled against his back and shoulders. He tensed, then forced himself to relax. He didn't want to give himself away and let them know he was awake!

He drew in a slow, deep breath, trying to draw in scents. He barely got anything, just the dry smell of the stone, and the warm vanilla scent of the fabric softener from the blanket he was wrapped in.

It was almost as if…

Fear washed through him, and he made himself cross eyed looking down at his own nose. Still green. He wiggled his fingers experimentally. His hands were pinned between his chest and the warm form in front of him, bound together somehow. The blanket was in the way and he couldn't exactly see how.

But his fingers could _just _reach his throat.

The cool metal of an inhibitor collar met his questing fingers. He could've cried. He was who knows where, trapped in between a pair of who knows _what_ (and in his line of work the 'what' was a completely justifiable question), and he'd been here for who knows how long!

The warm presence behind him shifted, then seemed to really settle in, resting even more heavily against Gar. The added weight pushed the metallic binding's on his wrists more firmly into the presence in front of him.

There was an irritated grunt from above his head and the presence in front of him moved. Apparently whatever it was didn't appreciate getting prodded with whatever it was they'd used to immobilize his hands.

Then, oh wonder of wonders, it _spoke_!

"KF, get off! I can barely breath with you laying across the top of the two of us!" a familiar voice hissed.

Gar barely had time to comprehend what he was hearing when the one behind him answered.

"Sorry…!"

He looked up, eyes wide with shock. "_Artemis_?"

The blonde gave Bart a dirty look. "There, now see what you did? You woke him up!" she scolded.

Bart drew back a little, giving her a confused look. "But I thought we wanted him to wake up?"

Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes KF, but we wanted him to wake up on his _own_, not because you rolled over and nearly squished to two of us."

The fact that Bart's slight frame was as likely to squish them as a raccoon was to squish a coon dog was conveniently glossed over.

Artemis looked back down at Gar and smiled. "You gave us a real scare. How're you feeling Beast Boy?"

The emerald skinned boy smiled. "Noted." He answered, letting her know he'd registered her use of code names. "I feel ok, I guess. Why'd I scare you?"

Bart grinned, reaching up with bound hands to muss Gar's hair, longer now in his natural form. It was almost reminiscent of Nightwing's haircut. "You were cold as those icy treats you and Blue Beetle like so much when they tossed you in here!"

Gar grinned. "Popsicles?"

Bart nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah those things!"

Gar laughed and looked back to Artemis. "What are you doing here? I mean, I know they took Kid Flash but no one said anything about you."

Artemis nodded. "I'm not surprised. I'd almost completely dropped off the radar after Aqualad sent us on that mission. I hadn't been answering my phone, so no one would get worried right away if they didn't hear from me. Whoever these guys are, they took me straight off my couch in Palo Alto." She winced. "Poor Brucely's been on his own for almost a week! I hope somebody finds him."

Bart cocked his head. "Who's Brucely?"

"Me and Wally's dog."

"You guys have a dog?! That is _so _crash!"

Seeing that Artemis was about ready to deliver a cutting remark, Gar jumped in. "Don't worry." he reassured. "I think Nightwing was on the verge of figuring it out when I got grabbed. He'll find your dog."

Artemis nodded. "I hope so. I hate the idea of him starving to death in our apartment…"

There was a long moment of silence, then Gar shifted uncomfortably. "Umm… I don't see any doors or windows or anything in this place… Where's the bathroom?"

Bart grinned mischievously and shrugged out of the blanket, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. "Right this way!"

Under Artemis's amused glance, the speedster led Gar to a corner in the other end of the room. He pointed to a grateless drain set in the flagstone floor.

"Commode a la dungeon cell!"

Gar stared at the hole in the floor, the dulled senses the collar left him with only just now picking up the smell coming from it. If he'd had the enhanced senses he normally had, he would've been able to smell it pretty strongly clear across the room.

Suddenly he was very glad for the collar.

"Umm…. Noted?"

Across the room behind him, he heard Artemis snort. "You asked…"

* * *

Rofl, couldn't resist! And as to Gar's senses being dull, I figured that since inhibitor collars neutralize super powers (even if said powers are natural to the person, like M'Gann's telepathy) it would probably take out the slightly stronger hearing and sense of smell Gar would normally give himself in that hybrid form.

Review! And just to warn you guys, I'm leaving for Chatenooga (I think that's how you spell it) soon. Not sure if they have WiFi, so I'm not making any promises as to posting. But I can promise I'll type my little heart out!

Until next time...


	9. Where To?

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to get back to you. For those inquiring minds wanting to know where Chattanooga is, it's in the grand old state of Tennessee.

Shout out's to the oh so patient: Kamil The Awesome (who is indeed awesome), and Ally Marton (who is also amazing in that she's making up for lost time. Glad you're having fun!) Eat your cookies and enjoy your new chapter!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Watchtower: July 14, 6:05 a.m.**

"…and it appears that animals can somehow sense the coming of these abductors." Kaldur concluded.

They were in the briefing room, the entire remaining team members and most of the mentors gathered here to listen to what they had learned.

Nightwing nodded, waving his hand to activate the holo-computer and bring up one of the larger display screens. "After M'Gann told us what she'd learned from Brucely, Blue Beetle and I went back over the footage of Bart and Gar's kidnapping. Both times the animals reacted _well_ in advance."

The footage of the two abductions came up in split screen mode, a clock centered underneath counting down second by second to the moment when both boys disappeared in a flash of brilliant white light.

Nightwing's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, and the footage of Bart vectored in on a seeing eye dog in the background, standing stoically between his master and the carnage. On the other screen, Gar was chasing after Jaime's ball in the shape of an emerald sight hound.

Exactly fifteen seconds before both boys disappeared, both dogs suddenly stiffened.

As the seconds ticked by, the progression could clearly be seen as both canines reacted to the changes in their senses. When the counter reached zero and the boys disappeared, the seeing eye dog seemed to immediately return to normal, shaking his head once or twice before leading his master away.

Nightwing dismissed the screens.

"I know it is not much." Kaldur stated grimly. "But it is all that we have at the moment."

La'Gann sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "So much for the 'vendetta against speedsters' theory." He grumbled, making Flash wince.

Robin nodded. "Artemis was with Wally for a full five years, I could _maybe_ see them taking her. But aside from being on the same team, Gar's got no connection to _any_ of the speedsters. There's absolutely _no_ reason for them to grab him. It just doesn't make sense!"

"Which…means we need a new theory on motive." Batgirl sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly.

The dark knight slowly rose. "This could also negate the theory that these kidnappings are the Reach's revenge." He stated grimly. "The Reach are more likely to exact revenge on Blue Beetle, Aqualad, or Nightwing. But all three have been left alone."

Wonder Woman quietly slipped her arm around Cassie, protectively pulling her own protégé close to her side, as if the mysterious abductors would come for the young blonde this very second. "So what options are we left with?"

"Well, we should probably start with the direct approach." Green Arrow answered. "Activated trackers on everyone, always working in pairs, stuff like that."

Superman nodded. "Sounds reasonable." He looked to Atom. "It might be better if we had trackers other than the one's in our coms, we can't get a lock on the missing team members with those. Something we can hide. Got any ideas?"

Atom gave a thoughtful nod. "I'll see what I can do."

"What do we do about suspects? If we've eliminated vendettas against speedsters and the Reach, who does that leave us?" Barry asked. The speedster had his cowl pushed back so that it bunched around his neck, his fingers nervously drumming on the tabletop. His blonde hair was in disarray, there were bags under his eyes, and the stress was clearly cut into his face.

He looked like hell.

Aquaman placed a hand on Barry's shoulder. "There are many individuals who could have done this my friend. It yet remains for us to narrow our focus and discover their identities."

"At least we know it's probably not the Light."

All eyes turned to look at Virgil Hawkins, aka Static, the newest addition to the team. He ducked his head a little under the weight of their gaze. "I mean… Aqualad-uh Kaldur, he completely busted those guys! …didn't he?"

"He busted their organization kid." Black Lightening answered his protégé.

"Kal busted the Light." Roy agreed grimly. "But several of them got away. Any one of them could be behind this." He looked to Kaldur. "Any chance the Light could still be in business?"

Kaldur frowned thoughtfully. "During the course of my time undercover, Ocean Master was replaced with my father, Black Manta. They are not afraid to bring in new blood, merely cautious. It is possible that they might replace their captured members, but it is unlikely that they will have done so this swiftly."

Nightwing nodded. "Still worth investigating." A wave of his hand brought up a new holo-computer and his fingers practically attacked the keyboard. "I'll see what I can find on the net about their whereabouts and activities."

Bumble Bee folded her arms, her eyebrows arching. "The net. Really?" All three Bat- protégés turned around to grin at the suddenly nervous black girl. She looked from one to another. "What?"

Batgirl's grin widened. "Um… Karen, do you realize how much we could learn about _you_ through the net…?"

* * *

**Watchtower: July 14, 7:15 a.m.**

"Hey Cassie?"

The young Amazon turned, adopting a smile for her boyfriend of a little over a week. She hated that it had taken the death of the Kid Flash to make her realize that life was short, and give her courage to kiss Robin, but now that she and Robin were official she couldn't be happier.

She wouldn't trade her boy for the world.

Said boy was now headed her way. Like her he was dressed in costume, a variation off of the two Robins that had come before him. She might've been a little biased, but she was of the firm opinion that her Robin was the best.

"Yes?" she asked, corralling her thoughts as he drew near. He smiled, ever the shy type. He didn't know it, but she was of the opinion that was adorable… Well, frankly she found pretty much anything he did adorable.

Robin chewed his lip a little, still trying to get used to the concept that this gorgeous girl had _chosen_ to become his girlfriend. He could _totally_ understand the attraction between Batman and Wonder Woman.

"I was wondering… We've both been up all night, and we _definitely _need sleep! But I was wondering if you'd like to put on some civvies and go planet-side with me for breakfast?"

Despite her tiredness, Cassie's eyes lit up at the prospect of spending time with Robin outside of teams and missions. "I'd love to! Give me a second, and I'll be right back and…!"

Robin laughed, catching her hand before she could go flying off. "Cas!" He waited a second to make sure he had her attention, then grinned and went on. "I've got to change too, so why don't we meet by the zeta's, ok?"

Yeah, that made sense.

She blushed, embarrassed, and nodded. "Ok, the zeta tubes. Meet ya there!" With that she was gone, flying off down the hall at a pretty decent speed.

Robin smiled fondly as he watched her leave, then whipped his head around when he got the sudden sensation that he was being watched. Standing a little ways down the hall behind him was the dark knight.

"Is something wrong?" He asked curiously.

The dark knight's eyes narrowed. "Where will you go?" he asked.

Robin's smile immediately faded as he snapped into report mode. "Well I can't exactly go to Gotham, there's always the off chance that someone'll recognize me, sunglasses or no. I was thinking Central City. I might not know the city as well as Nightwing, but I'm comfortable there."

The boy wonder glanced up and down the hall, making sure he wouldn't be overheard. "That and, well… Flash is a wreck sir. With Wally and Bart both gone, there's no one looking after Central, and we can't ask Mr. Garrick to keep an eye on Central, he's retired."

"And even if he wasn't retired, he would have his own city to look after." The dark knight gave him a shrewd look. "You can't stay in Central 24/7 Robin. The team will need you, and so will Gotham."

Robin sighed and nodded. "I know sir. It's just that…well, Wally wasn't just Nightwing's friend. And everyone liked Bart. Central City is the home of the Flash family, and I want to do something to help them. Even if it's something small like looking after their city for a morning. With Wally dead and Bart missing, and Iris with twins on the way… Barry doesn't need this kind of stress…"

Robin flushed. "Plus, I thought it might be nice to have breakfast with my girlfriend…"

Batman was silent for several minutes, then nodded. "Very well. You've got two hours. Then I want you back in Gotham City and in bed. I'll inform Agent A and tell him to be expecting you. Understood?"

Robin nodded. "Yes sir." He turned to hurry towards his newly assigned quarters here in the watchtower when Batman called his name again.

"Robin."

He paused. "Yes sir?"

The dark knight's lips quirked a little at the corners, the closest he'd ever come to a smile while in uniform. "A word of advice. Never grab hold of an Amazon when she's angry or in the process of taking flight."

Robin quirked an eyebrow at the dark knight. "Speaking from personal experience?" Batman's eyes narrowed and Robin hurriedly ducked his head. "Yes sir."

He turned and darted down the hall, knowing Cassie had enough of a head start, plus the flight, and would probably be waiting for him.

He made a mental note as he entered his room to ask Nightwing about Batman and Wonder Woman later.

One quick change of clothes later, basically detaching the cape and pulling on breakaway pants and a wind breaker over his uniform. He stashed the cape in a small gym bag, tucked a nondescript wallet in his pocket and made a dash for the zetas.

As he had feared, Cassie was already there waiting for him.

She was dressed in a pair of dark green yoga pants and matching jacket over what looked like a black t-shirt. She was still wearing her usual silver bracelets and star shaped earrings.

To be honest he'd never seen her without them.

"Sorry." He panted as he came to a stop in front of her. "Batman waylaid me on the way to my room." She giggled and waved it off. No one said no to Batman. "So, you ready to go?" he asked.

Cassie nodded. "Where are we going?"

Robin smiled, finishing keying in their destination. "Central."

* * *

I know, no kidnappings this chapter. But I'll make up for it next chapter, I promise!

Review! Who do you think it'll be? (I may or may not have left you a hint...)

Until next time...


	10. Of Cafe's and Kitty Cats

Honey, I'm home!

Lol, shout out's to: DoggieFanNumber1, Kamil The Awesome, Kmack13! Cyber cookies for you all! (::)

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Central City: July 14, 7:45 a.m. **

_Recognize. Robin. B. Two. Zero. Wonder Girl. B. Two. One. _

"Gah, sorry Cas, I forgot how cramped Central's zeta is." Robin quickly slipped out of the phone booth, turning to help Cassie out. "It's been a long time since I've been here." He admitted.

Cassie stepped out of the booth, looking around curiously. "How often did you come here?"

Robin smiled, leading her out of the alleyway and out onto the sidewalk. "Pretty often after I first put on the cape." He answered, keeping his voice quiet so the other pedestrians wouldn't hear. "Wally still lived here back then, and Nightwing brought me here fairly often. There's a little street café about a block ahead of us that's pretty good."

He flushed a little, maybe he should've asked her opinion on where they were going! "Is that alright?"

Cassie giggled and nodded. "It sounds great!" she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh no! I forgot to bring money!" She turned, intent on running back right then and there to go get it.

Robin caught her hand.

He very quickly learned that there was merit in the dark knight's advice. Cassie jerked him back several steps, nearly causing him to do a face plant. She hurriedly caught him before he could.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!"

He laughed. "Cassie it's fine!" He captured her other hand as well, assuring that he had her full attention and that she wouldn't go anywhere _right _away. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

She looked back toward the alley that housed the zeta. "But, I won't be able to pay for…"

He cupped her cheek, silencing her. "That's not how it works here." He told her, laughing. "Here, when a couple goes on a date it's generally the _guy_ who pays for the meal."

Cassie's mouth dropped open in a little 'o'. Then she looked down at her clothes. "If I'd known this was a date…"

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "You look amazing, just like always." He assured. He grinned, lacing his fingers through hers, and jerked his head up the street toward the café he'd spoken of. "C'mon, let's go eat."

She allowed him to lead her down the block to the café, very quickly getting back into the spirit of things. By the time they'd gotten their breakfast and settled in at one of the little wrought iron tables outside the shop she was completely back to her usual self.

The early morning sunlight played off of their surroundings, casting things in a new light.

They were nearing the end of breakfast when a question popped into Cassie's mind. It had been bothering her for a while, but she kept forgetting to ask the other girls. Maybe Robin could explain it to her.

"Robin?"

"Hm?"

"What's a 'class ring'?"

That got Robin's attention, if for no other reason than that it had completely come out of left field. They'd been discussing what her home on Themiscara had been like.

"It's a ring you get during high school. It's usually personalized. Why?"

Cassie blushed. "Well, I heard the other girls talking. They said boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to exchange class rings to show they're dating, and they wear them on chains around their neck. But I don't _have_ a class ring to give you and…"

Robin laughed. "It's ok Cassie." She stopped talking and he carefully explained. "Exchanging class rings is a high school tradition. And that's all it is. A tradition. It's not mandatory, like wedding or engagement rings."

He reached across the table to catch her hand, rubbing his thumb across the backs of her knuckles. He'd found himself holding her hand a lot lately. He didn't know why, he just _wanted _to.

It felt right.

He gave her a sad smile. "It's a tradition we wouldn't have been able to follow through on anyway." She gave him a confused look and he elaborated. "My class ring has the name of my school, the year I'm due to graduate, and my name on it. My _real _name. With Batman's gag order…"

She squeezed his hand sympathetically. "It's ok…"

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 14, 8:10 a.m. **

"It is time." The deep voice rumbled.

Three hands slowly reached out, palms pressing down flat against the glowing gemstones. Before them, the glittering grey flecks slowly glowed to new brilliance with a life of their own as they continued that ceaseless journey in their ever turning spiral. The grey color faded, the flecks taking on myriad gemstone tones as new power flowed through them. The natural stone arch shone in the light of its glowing portal.

All was ready.

"Remember." The second voice hissed. "This time, the prize is mine for the choosing…"

* * *

**Central City: July 14, 8:15 a.m. **

"Robin?" Cassie asked curiously.

They were back in the alley that held the disguised zeta tube entrance. Having finished their breakfast, they had come back here.

But Robin hadn't made any move to use the zeta.

The boy wonder gave her a reassuring smile and motioned her towards the disguised booth. "I'm not going back just yet Cas." He explained. He flushed, looking past her at the city. "Wally and Bart were both friends of mine, and this is the home of the Flash family. Flash isn't in any condition to look after Central right now, so I'm gonna be moonlighting for a couple hours today."

He unzipped the jacket he was wearing, revealing the costume he was wearing underneath.

Cassie blushed. "I guess that makes two of us then…" She unzipped the front of her jacket to reveal her own uniform. Robin gave her a surprised look and Cassie gave him a shy smile. "Bart was my friend, and Wally and Flash were always nice to me. Batgirl told me Flash's wife was expecting…" she shrugged. "I just wanted to help… That's alright isn't it?"

Robin laughed, shedding his jacket and pulling off the breakaway pants. It was the work of a few moments to retrieve his gloves, mask, and cape from the gym bag. He was careful to turn his back to put on his mask, checking the alley in front of him for reflective surfaces.

Nightwing had almost learned that one the hard way.

"The more the merrier!" he called over his shoulder.

Cassie nodded, shimmying out of her street clothes. She'd rolled down the high collar of the sleeveless black uniform to hide it under her jacket, and she took a moment now to roll it back up. "Good. I wouldn't want to get in the way…"

Robin arched his eyebrow at her, shoving the jacket, sunglasses, and breakaway pants into his gym bag. "Well, the league said we should work in pairs…" he grinned and shrugged. "Plus, like I'm going to turn you down? I don't see enough of you for my liking as it is!"

Cassie giggled, slipping her wadded up street clothes into his gym bag since she'd forgotten to bring her own.

Robin flushed and hurriedly backtracked, hiding the bag inside the zeta. "Sorry, that last bit came out _totally_ wrong."

The sound of an alarm bell in the distance saved Cassie from answering. The two took to the rooftops, racing for the source of the alarm. It took them less than no time to get there. And despite the fact that Cassie could fly, Robin didn't have too much trouble keeping pace with her.

They both came to a rest on the roof opposite one of the Central City banks, which was in the process of being robbed.

Robin smiled and gestured at the bank. "Ladies first?"

Cassie took flight again, calling over her shoulder as she flew at the bank. "Don't mind if I do!"

Robin laughed, leaping off the building after her. It wasn't the wild, mischievous cackle of the original Robin. It was his own. But none of the crooks seemed to notice.

Some people said word on the street was that the Robin was an immortal child, as he never seemed to grow any older.

He would later learn that the bank robbers had a man with a rifle posted on a nearby rooftop. But for now, all he knew was the sudden explosion of pain in his shoulder. He yelled, losing hold of his grapple.

He was in free fall now.

"Robin!"

He looked up, holding out his good hand the way Nightwing had taught him to do. Cassie caught him midair, a good fifteen feet above the pavement. "You're hurt!"

"Cassie, I…"

His words died in his throat as a brilliant flash of white light blinded him. Within the space of an instant, it was gone, and he was in free fall once more.

There was a big difference between fifteen feet and thirty-five, and he landed without too much trouble.

He'd been going to tell Cassie he was fine. But he didn't feel fine. Cassie was gone. Robin could hear sirens in the distance. He would let the police handle the bank robbers, he was in neither the mood nor the shape to chase them.

He touched a pair of fingers to his com link, tears welling in his eyes.

"Robin to Batman…"

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 14, 8:25 a.m.**

The blonde fell through the portal, flopping to the floor as if lifeless. Her long blonde hair fanned out across the floor around her, almost in mimicry of a halo.

Three hands slowly drew back from the gemstones, allowing the portal to close. A warm breeze blew over the girl as all three voices seemed to draw near. And again the figures in the deeper shadows along the edges of the room maintained a respectful distance, waiting to be summoned.

"Why this one?" the nasal voice whined. "If you wanted to weaken them, why not grab the one with the 'S' on his chest?"

The deeper voice gave a rumbling laugh. "That one is still too well protected by the Votary. The marks favor him. But this…" there was another rumbling laugh. "I suspect our brother chose this one for it's looks rather than it's abilities…"

The second voice snorted in disdain. "I chose it for the psychological value. This one is well loved by it's teammates, especially by the one called 'Robin'. It will be a disheartening blow to them to lose this one."

The deep voice chuckled. "Perhaps." It agreed. "Perhaps not. Let us see if our brother can do better."

The nasal voice sounded surprised. "Me?"

"Yes, you." The deep voice replied. "I believe our power sufficient to manage another." A hand came to rest on the gem in the center. "Come brother, show us the prize you would have us add to our collection…"

* * *

**Boston: July 14, 9:06 a.m.**

Arsenal crouched low on the roof of a building.

Across the street from the old brick building he was sitting on was an equally old and substantially more crumby brick building. Two windows in and three down from the top was the room of a drug dealer. Word on the street said he was going to be making a huge deal today.

Arsenal intended to film said deal, then break it.

But in the meantime, he was bored. This was the end of a long crumby night for him, and he was sporting some new bruises for his trouble. All he wanted to do was bust these guys, get a hot shower, and sleep for a week. Not necessarily in that order.

At least he didn't have to worry about Ollie mother henning him.

Ollie. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he did miss the irritating blonde. After all, when his previous guardian Brave Bow, who had looked after him when his parents died and taught him everything he knew about how to use a bow… When _he_ had passed away and Roy had been relegated to a children's home, it had been Oliver who had rescued him, bringing him back to Star City as his ward. Oliver had looked after him, protected him, and treated him like a son.

No matter how betrayed he might feel that Ollie hadn't spotted the fake, you just _don't_ get over something like that.

But still, how could he forgive him for something like _that_?

He irritably pushed thoughts of Oliver Queen from his mind. It never failed, if he had time to kill, the irritating blonde would pop up in his mind, ingratiating smile firmly fixed in place. Lately he'd had a pretty blonde chick on his arm a lot, in _and _out of costume. He was pretty sure Oliver's Miss Dinah Lance and Green Arrow's Black Canary were one and the same person.

He wondered if Ollie knew, or was just that lucky…

He irritably shook his head, realizing he'd drifted back to thoughts of Ollie yet _again_! He needed something to distract himself…

His eye fell on the window across the street and he grimaced. Ok, maybe a distraction wasn't what he needed, but he at least needed something to stave off the boredom. Back when he'd been Speedy, he and Ollie used to bring along brain teasers, or tell each other jokes and riddles. Ollie generally stunk at riddles but…

"Gah! Really?" he threw up his hands in defeat. "Face it Roy." He muttered, shaking his head. "You've got Oliver on the brain…"

A clattering sound nearby caught his attention. It was coming from the alley to his right. He got up and walked across the roof to peer over the edge of the wall. Far below, he could just make out the movement of an animal in the dimness of the alley. It might've been a cat.

That clattering sound came again as the animal moved.

His eyes narrowed behind the domino mask. Either there was more than one animal, or this one had something caught on its tail. He glanced over his shoulder. The curtains were still open on that window, not that it mattered, he'd planted the mini mic and camera late last night.

The buyer hadn't arrived yet.

He still had time.

He attached a line to the roof and quickly and quietly repelled down the side of the building. Upon reaching the bottom, he immediately slowed his movement. It was a cat, just like he'd thought, and somehow it had managed to get a wad of string and a pair of aluminum cans tangled up around its tail. It was probably catting around a junk yard somewhere, pun intended.

He held out his hand, trying to gentle the tones of his voice.

"Here kitty…" He whispered.

The cat raised its head from trying to pick at the knotted strings with its teeth. Vibrant gold eyes glinted shrewdly in the murky alley at him. Well at least he had it's attention.

"Come on fella…" he whispered, trying to gentle his voice even more. "Come on, I'm not gonna hurt you… Just cut all that crap off your tail."

After a long moment, the cat gracefully rose from its crouch and turned towards him. The aluminum cans rattled off the pavement, startling the cat and making it whip around, rattling the cans all the more.

The cat gave a mournful mew.

He held his hand out farther, adding a coaxing note to his voice. "Come on kitty… Here kitty, kitty, kitty…"

The cat nervously made it's way closer, jumping every time those two cans rattled or scraped against the pavement. He kept coaxing it, hand held out to the animal.

It finally got close enough and he gently picked it up, lifting it into his lap.

He carefully sat back against the wall, cradling the cat. It was a young leggy animal, the fur a black and grey tabby pattern. A quick glance showed that the animal was either female or fixed. He was leaning toward female.

Now that she was safely settled into his lap, the cat seemed to lose her skittishness. She nuzzled up against him, a loud rumbling purr starting up in the little feline's chest. He could actually _feel _the purr vibrating through her small body.

"Ouch!"

He quickly and gently unhooked her claws from where she'd started kneeding the uniform covering his hip. "Watch the claws little girl." He grumbled. He drew a small switchblade from his belt and flicked it open. "Let's just take care of this, huh?"

Holding the switchblade between his teeth, Roy brought the cat's be-junked tail around where he could see it, scratching her neck and keeping her occupied with his other hand. His eyes narrowed however when he saw the tangled mass of string.

It'd obviously become tangled from being dragged around, but he could clearly see several complicated knots tied around both the cat's tail and the cans. Someone had done this on purpose.

"Hold still." He muttered gruffly, carefully nipping at the cords with the tip of his knife. "All this junk's been a pain for you, I'd hate to accidentally take a piece of your tail when I cut it off." The cat continued to purr. As if she understood, she did settle down, curling up in a ball in his lap and apparently going to sleep there.

It didn't take him long to cut the strings enough to make the mess drop away from her tail.

He'd originally intended to just get the stuff off her tail and go. But now that he'd done it, and she was curled up like a warm little travel pillow in his lap, he found he really wasn't in all that much of a hurry to move. Roy gently stroked her fur, marveling.

She had remarkably soft fur for a street cat.

"Where'd you come from, hmm? You're a little too nice to've been a street girl all your life." He murmured.

The cat's head suddenly jerked up, gold eyes snapping open. Her hackles rose, ears pinning back flat against her head. She hissed, her claws dug into his arm deep enough to draw blood.

He swore, moving to dislodge her when a blinding white light burst into the alleyway around him. He got the sensation that he was being pulled backwards fast through _really _thick molasses, and somewhere along the way the cat disappeared.

A part of him was glad.

At least there was a chance the _cat_ had gotten away.

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 14, 9:32 a.m. **

The new figure fell from the portal.

Once again, three hands drew back from the glowing gemstones, allowing the portal to close. And once more, the voices seemed to draw near.

"This is your prize brother?" the second voice gave an inelegant snort. "Why? He is not affiliated with those who are the keystones of this world. Nor is he even a proper hero. He is a child who was lost, and though he was found, he has yet to find himself. What good is such a creature to us?"

The nasal voice was hesitant when it answered. "I can't answer that. All I know is that he interests me…"

The deep voice finally deigned to join the conversation. "All is well brother. You followed your instincts, and it is the mind, not the instincts which lead us astray." To the shadowy figures along the walls he added. "Take him. Store our newfound prizes with the others."

Three sets of eyes watched as those inhuman figures bound Arsenal's wrists with cube cuffs, and secured an inhibitor collar around his neck. And just like the others, he was unceremoniously dragged away by whatever limb happened to be closest to his captors.

"You were right." The second voice murmured. "Our power is growing. To take two within so short a span of time…"

"We'll be unstoppable soon!" the nasal voice added excitedly.

The deep voice had a long suffering sound to it's tone when it answered. "None are truly unstoppable little brother. There are only those who are more observant and better prepared than others. The Votary is still a formidable foe, so long as the favor of the marks continues to pour in. I do not think it wise to lower our guards just yet…"

* * *

Huston, we have a double header! I know there was no way for you to predict Arsenal but I did leave a bit of foreshadowing for Cassie. And don't worry, the bats will suffer a kidnapping in the near future as well.

Review!

Until next time...


	11. Who's to Blame?

Hey guys, I'm back! My sister recently hopped on , and if you're whovians, I suggest you check her out! Look for JosieRose in my favorite authors.

Shout outs to: Blue Torpedo, Kmack13, Kamil The Awesome, and DoggieFanNumber1. Cookies to all of you 'asterous folks! (There's a taco there for you kmack13 since you wanted a taco instead) (::)

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Watchtower: July 14, 10:01 a.m. **

A loud screech of metal sounded in the near silence.

Wonder Woman slowly pulled her fist out of the deep indent she'd left in the metal table. The surrounding league members knew from past experience that _that _wouldn't be coming out anytime soon without a lot of sweat and elbow grease… and possibly a little help from the man of steel...

The angry Amazon turned her furious gaze on Batman."How could you let this happen?" she yelled.

To everyone's surprise, Robin stepped in between the two of them. His face was pale, but he didn't back down before the Amazon princess's wrath. "It's not his fault!" he yelled back. "I'm the one who took Cassie planet side for breakfast. If it weren't for me she'd be here now."

Wonder Woman starred at him in shock. She hadn't expected that sort of angry outburst from one of Batman's boys. Especially not this newest incarnation of Robin, he was always so quiet and soft spoken.

"Robin…" she breathed.

Batman calmly placed his hand on his son's shoulder and drew him out of the way. "No one is at fault." He stated, his very stance _daring _Wonder Woman to disagree and make his son feel worse than he already did. "Whether on earth or here in the watchtower she would have been taken. The tower's defenses didn't prevent Beast Boy's kidnapping. They would not have prevented Wonder Girl's. If we want them back, we must concentrate on who is taking them, and how."

Superman looked to Atom. "How are the tracking devices coming?"

The Atom sighed. "They'll be ready by noon tomorrow." He answered sadly. "I just wish I'd had them done in time to benefit Wonder Girl."

Superman nodded. "Everyone be here tomorrow afternoon. Those kidnappers are going to get a surprise when they take their next target."

"If they have another target…" Robin murmured morosely.

There was a long silence.

"We'll be here." Canary promised. Green Arrow slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and she turned into his hold.

These kidnapping's were taking their toll on her. She'd been the hand to hand combat instructor for the team since it's inception and, more importantly, she'd been their counselor and confidant. She cared for these teens. These kidnappings were hitting her hard.

Across the room, Batman's eyes met those of Nightwing.

Years of working together had bred an understanding between the two, enabling a silent, almost telepathic communication. But they didn't speak mind to mind. They didn't have to. They merely had to look to be certain, and even if they couldn't see each other, nine times out of ten they could make a pretty accurate guess.

The dark knight quietly turned and stalked away, knowing his elder son would take over while he was busy hunting these kidnappers.

Robin quietly stood there with his head hung low. Whether Batman believed it or not, he knew it was his fault. It wasn't logical, but he felt certain that somehow he was to blame.

A pair of unique thin soled tennis shoes came into his line of sight, and he knew without looking who it was standing in front of him. Nightwing preferred the thin soled shoes when in civilian garb because they were similar to the shoes he'd worn as an acrobat, and later as the Robin, and now as the Nightwing.

"Hey." That familiar tenor voice said softly. "You ok?"

Robin quietly raised his head, opening his mouth to tell Nightwing he was fine. That he could handle it. But one look up at his elder adopted brother's face and he knew any thoughts he had of shooting the bull were completely wasted on the older boy.

This was _Nightwing_.

Batman might've been the world's greatest detective, but in amongst his many other talents Nightwing was probably the world's _greatest_ people reader. Robin was pretty certain the dark bird's interpersonal skills were to the point where he could walk in on a team of ax murderers in action and talk them all down into evangelical saints.

He sighed. He wasn't fine. "Not 'traught." He answered softly, using the slang of the original Robin. "Cassie disappearing…"

Nightwing silently nodded. "This way." He whispered.

Robin felt Nightwing's hand ghost against his arm, and he allowed his elder brother to guide him. Nightwing led him from the room, and it was only after they had traversed three hallways that he realized they were in the section that housed the league and team's personal quarters.

Nightwing silently keyed into one of the rooms and led Robin inside.

Once the door was closed behind them, the dark bird ditched his sunglasses and gently peeled of Robin's mask. He dropped the two on the bedside table before resting his hands on Robin's shoulders.

"It's not your fault Tim." He said softly. "They would've taken Cassie no matter where she was. There was nothing you could've done."

Tears welled in the eyes of Timothy Wayne Drake. "Dick I…" He shook his head, the tears coming in earnest now. "I'm _the Robin_, I should've been able to _do _something. If I was _half _the Robin I was supposed to be, half the Robin _you_ and _Jason_ were…"

"Hey now!" Dick exclaimed, quickly cutting his little brother off. "Don't you even go there. You're just as much of a Robin as either of us were, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Both you and Jason bring your own extra something to the persona of Robin." He snorted. "Half the Robin… That's complete and utter horse hockey, as Mr. Haley liked to say."

He waited a few moments for Tim's response, eyes carefully gauging Tim's face. When no response was forthcoming, he gently slipped a knuckle underneath Tim's chin and lifted the boy's face to look at him.

"…now what's _really _eating you?" he asked gently.

Tim closed his eyes. "I should've done _something_." He sobbed. "It's my mom and dad all over again…"

Pain washed across Dick's face at the reminder, but he pushed the memory of his own parents deaths aside and pulled Tim into a hug. He could feel the shoulder of his shirt getting damp already as Tim cried into it, and he made a mental note to either change his shirt or pull a light jacket on over it before he left his room. No need to embarrass Tim like that.

But for now, he didn't care.

He sat down on the bed, pulling Tim down with him, and just held him. He gently ruffled the boy's raven hair, resting his chin on the top of Tim's head. "It's alright Tim." He whispered, knowing for a fact that it wasn't.

Not really.

Years had gone by, and in many ways he still felt the death of his parents just as keenly as he had the day after. The hurt never really left, you just learned to live with it. But he couldn't tell that to Tim. The latest Robin's hurt was still relatively new.

So he held his little brother, and told him what he needed to hear.

"It'll be ok Tim." He whispered in the sobbing boy's ear. "I know it hurts now, but it gets better with time. We'll find Cassie and all the others. It won't be like your parents. We won't be too late to save them. I promise…"

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 14, 11:13 a.m. **

It moved closer.

It had been watching the new arrivals for some time. Noting each one as they were thrown into the cell. It knew them. But it hadn't dared approach them. It did now. They were all huddled in a corner together, trying to keep warm.

No, that wasn't it exactly.

It moved closer still to get a better look. They were curled around the newest arrivals, trying to keep _them_ warm. Neither the new blonde nor the one armed red head appeared to be as bad off as the green one had been. It was probably because they were bigger than he was. Stronger.

It frowned, moving to within a few inches of the sleeping teens.

The first to come here, the older blonde. She was shivering. She'd sacrificed her rights on the blanket to make sure the newest arrivals were kept warm. Granted she was wearing a baggy red hooded sweat shirt, but her long legs were bare to the cool night air, and she wasn't wearing shoes.

It couldn't have that.

It reached out to her cautiously, pulling the hood up on her head to help retain some heat and to cushion her head against the hard stone wall.

It silently settled down beside her, wrapping around her as much as it could without waking her. It's body was much cooler than her own, it really wasn't sure how much it was helping. But anything had to be better than the cold air and stone of the cell.

Right?

* * *

Lol, confused yet? If you are, don't worry, it's perfectly normal. (Grins evilly) All will be explained in the fullness of time...

Review and tell me who you think is going to be next on the hit list! I already have my list of names set out in the order I want in my outline, but it's fun to hear your guesses (some of you have inspired some pretty kick ass ideas too!).

Until next time.


	12. Who Will Be Next?

I am declaring it "National Update Day", as I am going to attempt to update all of my ongoing stories today!

Shout out's to the splendiferous: Kamil the Awesome, Evening Raven, Rocky Lover (sigh, yes you may have a doughnut), Zatannas, Kmack13, and SevenSilences. You guys are the bomb and all of you get giant cookies!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Palo Alto: July 14, 6:15 p.m.**

Dick Grayson sighed, quietly unlocking the door.

It hadn't been hard to get himself a key for Wally and Artemis's apartment. It was a simple matter of slipping into the landlord's rooms one evening and making molds of his keys. He cast new keys and tried them until he found the one that fit.

He toed the door closed behind him, setting the two grocery bags on the floor so he could lock the door behind him. A soft groan came to his ears. He grabbed his bags and moved to sit on the couch next to the languid form of the white Pit Bull.

"Hey Brucely." He said sadly, gently stroking the dog's head. "How was your day today?" The dog groaned in answer. He nodded. "Yeah, me to. Those creeps took another one today. They got Cassie."

Brucely cocked his head.

Dick sighed and nodded. Getting to his feet he grabbed his bags and headed for the kitchen. "You wouldn't know her Brucely." He said. "Or at least, as far I know, you wouldn't. She's Wonder Woman's protégé. You wouldn't of met her either, but you might've gotten a whiff of her off of Artemis a time or two, she and your mistress sparred every now and then."

He cocked his head, looking over his shoulder at the dog on the couch. "You going to get off that couch this time?" He called.

The dog merely flipped it's ears, as if shaking his head at him.

It was because of Brucely that he was here at all, and not at home in Wayne manor. Since he and the others had found him here, Brucely had refused to leave the couch. Dick had to carry the Pit Bull outside ever couple of hours or so while he was there to make sure Brucely actually went to the bathroom. As soon as he had finished his business, Brucely would turn and race back up the stairs into the apartment as fast as he possibly could to get back on the couch with Artemis's Tigress costume.

Dick sighed. "That's what I thought…"

He quietly pulled one of Artemis's pots out of the cupboard and set it on the burner. A small smile touched his lips as he filled the pot with a few cups of water. Alfred would've been horrified if he knew that Dick was making macaroni and cheese out of a box.

He flipped the knob on the stove and left the water to boil, heading back into the living room. "Come on Brucely." He coaxed. "Won't you walk down on your own today?" The dog didn't budge an inch. "…ok, guess we're doing this the hard way."

Dick cautiously sat down on the couch beside the dog.

This was where it got dicey. Not only was Brucely always quick to return to Artemis's Tigress costume, he was also very adamant about defending it. That costume was to stay _right_ where it was, or somebody was losing a finger or two. Quite possibly their whole hand.

He carefully edged his hands under the dog's sides. His fingers brushed the orange and black fabric of the Tigress costume. Brucely gave a low warning growl, his lips pulling back from his teeth.

"Easy Brucely." Dick murmured. "Let's keep this nice and civil, ok?" The dog continued to growl his warning, but he allowed Dick to pick him up after a few tense moments. "There you go." Dick chuckled.

He hauled the dog out the door, downstairs, and out to the nearest lawn.

He leaned back against a street light post, folding his arms as he watched the white Pit Bull sniff at the grass. After several minutes, Brucely finally found a spot he seemed to deem suitable and squatted. The instant he was finished, he took off back into the apartment.

Dick sighed, pulling a plastic bag from his pocket. "One of these days, I'm gonna have to teach you to bag your own…" he grumbled.

* * *

**Watchtower: July 15, 11:48 a.m.**

"Um… you're gonna stick that _where_ now?"

The Atom, otherwise known as Dr. Ray Palmer in his civilian life, chuckled. "It'll be up under your hairline, no one will ever notice." He answered reassuringly.

Virgil, otherwise known as Static Shock, gave him a distrusting look. "It's not that I don't trust ya or anything doc but….. yeah, I don't trust ya." He shook his head. "Where'd you ever come up with this anyway?"

Atom smirked. Picking up what appeared to be a steel grey ball the size of a pony bead, he dropped it in Virgil's palm. "Sharks." He stated matter of factly.

Virgil's mentor Black Lightning cocked his head. "Come again?"

"No, I get where he's comin' from." Virgil answered. To Atom he added, "You're talking about those shark tracking programs they've been using on the great whites, trying to find out where the sharks go, how they migrate, and where they meet and all that. Right?"

Atom nodded. "Correct. The trackers on the sharks are a few inches long give or take, and they've got a barb on the end of them. The sharks are lured close to the boat or spear fishermen go into the water, the barb is inserted through the skin near the dorsal fin, and the shark barely feels a thing." He gestured to the metal bead in Virgil's hand. "I just modified the concept."

Virgil lifted the bead up closer to his eyes. "Going more for the covert ops bit, so it had to be smaller an harder to see, the exact opposite of the sharks. Am I gonna have to worry about accidentally pulling this out?"

Atom shook his head. "Accidentally? No. Could you pull it out if you had a mind to? Yeah, though it'd take a little bit of doing. Until we've figured out who the kidnappers are, I'd advise you to leave it alone. I'll take it out after all this is figured out."

He took the metal bead back and dropped it in a little empty cup set in a tray. The rest of the little cups each held one bead apiece, each similar to the last. He picked up a different one. "This one's yours. I've had to adapt each one to the specific individual it's intended for. My main concern with yours is that your powers will short it out."

Dropping it into Virgil's palm, he explained. "I've insulated yours against your power, but I need you to test it out for me."

Virgil smiled. "So that's why you asked me to show up early."

Black Lightning chuckled. "Well? You heard him Virge. Zap that thing."

Virgil grinned. Electricity crackled into being around his hands. He cupped the bead in his palms, lightning flaring up out of his hands as he poured his power into it. He threw everything he had against it. And after a moment, he felt the give. He gave Atom a sheepish smile and handed it back to him.

"Sorry doc. Guess I've got more juice than your gizmo can take."

Atom sighed. "I was afraid of that." He turned his attention to the computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard as he made a new entry. "I wasn't sure exactly how much energy you were capable of putting out. I thought I was erring on the higher end of the scale, but clearly it was the conservative end. I'm afraid your tracker is going to be slightly bigger than the others, as it'll have to be more heavily insulated."

"So it'll be harder to hide." Virgil inferred. Atom nodded. Virgil heaved a sigh. "Terrific."

Black Lightning chuckled, ruffling Virgil's hair. "At least you've got the hair for it." he teased.

Virgil laughed, swatting his hands away. "Hey! Don't make me…"

They would never find out what Virgil was threatening to do. A brilliant white light suddenly flared into being, blinding them. For a moment, they thought Virgil had set off an electric charge, though for what purpose they couldn't imagine. But then they remembered the kidnappings.

The light faded, and the boy was gone.

"Virgil?" Black Lightning appeared to be in shock. If Virgil were here, he knew the boy would've made a joke out of him having electrical powers and 'being in shock'. But Virgil wasn't here.

"He's gone…"

* * *

**Gotham City: July 15, 9:06 p.m. **

"Uhg, this thing is driving me crazy!"

Batgirl rolled her eyes at the red garbed Robin. "For crying out loud Robin! If I hear you complain about that thing one more time…! It's not like you've got a shooter marble on the nape of your neck. I barely notice mine."

A hand reached down to tap her shoulder, making her jump. She whipped around, fist flying out to hit the intruder. Only to be stopped in midflight. She stared at the white lens covered eyes for a moment, her mind trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Then it clicked.

"Nightwing!" she hissed. "I swear to god…"

The dark haired teenager grinned. He was hanging by his knees from a flagpole mounted on the side of the building above their heads. That was why the white lenses had looked so odd in the dark. They were upside down.

"So jumpy tonight BG." He laughed. "And don't tell Robin you don't notice yours, you little liar, you've been reaching up to touch it every few minutes or so."

She glared at him. "Like you don't notice yours?"

The dark bird grinned. "I do." He answered. "But I get used to things quickly. With an upbringing like mine, you don't really have much of a choice." He stretched one gloved hand out farther to pat Robin's shoulder. "You'll get used to it Rob. Don't worry about it."

Robin nodded. "I wish Static could've gotten the chance to get used to these." He answered, reaching up to touch the tracking bead lodged in his scalp at the base of his skull.

The others nodded morosely.

It had shocked everyone when the team and their mentors had arrived at the lab and found an angry Black Lightning, the Atom going frantically at his computer. While Static's kidnapping had been unexpected, Atom had said, he'd felt certain that with all the advanced sensors in the lab they surely would've learned something new.

They hadn't.

All they'd been able to do was rule out what _hadn't _happened. The teens weren't teleported, and it wasn't magic. Blue Beetle's assessment that they were being pulled through to another universe was still a possibility, though they were all privately hoping to discount that one. The universe was big enough without having to search alternate dimensions too. Whatever technology the kidnappers were using, it wasn't anything they had ever seen before.

Which meant that they were still stuck at square one.

"Cheer up." Nightwing murmured, ruffling his little brother's hair. "We're the good guys remember? We always save the day. Sometimes it just takes us a little longer, that's all." The dark bird suddenly grinned and pointed. "Don't look now guys but we got incoming!"

He unhooked his knees and dropped to the ledge they were standing on, hand-springing off the edge into the murky Gotham night. The dark bird loved to fly. Batgirl and Robin were pretty sure the original Robin jumped off of buildings even more often than Batman did. The other two cast each other amused glances, then followed him.

Just another average night in Gotham City.

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 16, 1:40 a.m.**

"Come brothers. It is time to test the boundaries of our power yet again." The deep voice rumbled into the dark room.

"And which one did you have in mind to add to our collection this time?" the second voice asked dryly.

"Ooh, can we take the one with the blue bird on his chest?" the nasal voice asked excitedly.

The deep voice only chuckled in answer.

* * *

**Gotham City: July 16, 1:45 a.m.**

"I got it!"

Nightwing laughed, holding his prize close to his body as he raced away from the villain he'd just stolen it from.

It felt good to be out in costume again. It had been nice to be able to sleep a night through for once instead of running across dark rooftops all evening, but he'd found himself restless and edgy. He missed the excitement, and the feeling that he was actually making a difference.

With the team short so many members, Kaldur had had no choice but to ask Nightwing to come back in from his temporary hiatus. And Nightwing had been only too happy to accept. He'd wasted no time in coming back to his nightly routine with Batgirl and Robin as well.

"You frustrating fledglings! Return my prize!" the Penguin shrieked, leveling his umbrella gun at Nightwing and firing.

"Give it a rest 'Pengy'!" Nightwing laughed, dodging the shot. "You know that isn't going to happen!"

Robin back flipped over one of the Penguin's thugs. Firing off a grappling hook he took flight as another thug opened fire with a machine gun. Nightwing was quick to follow him up to the rafters. They found Batgirl already up there, hurling batarangs down at the villains below.

"Um, is it just me, or is Penguin hiring thugs with better aim?" Batgirl asked from her place on a beam.

Nightwing nodded, still hanging from his grappling hook. One arm was cradled close to his body, the museum piece tucked tightly under his arm. "The new hole in my costume would tend to agree with you BG." He panted.

"Wait, you're hit?" Robin exclaimed, horrified.

Nightwing smiled. "Just a scratch Robs." He answered, dropping gracefully onto one of the I-beams despite his injury. He held up the museum piece with his good hand, keeping his injured arm close to his body. The Penguin had stolen the piece earlier that week, a beautiful gold statue of an owl. Pitching his voice a little louder, he said, "In the meantime though, I'd say we've successfully plucked this bird's prize from his clutches." The other two grinned and all three looked down. "Wouldn't you say so Pengy?"

The Penguin glared up at them, very obviously fuming. "Confusticate you, you cretinous children." He shook his fist at them. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders and betters?"

Robin leaned forward to peer over the edge of the beam he'd claimed for his own. "Yeah, but they also taught us that taking something that isn't yours is a no-no. So if you're our 'elder and better' then you are sure setting one heck of a bad example."

The other two cast surprised glances at their youngest. The newest incarnation of Robin didn't generally crack wise with the villains.

Robin caught the look and ducked his head, offering them a sheepish smile. "What?" he murmured in a softer voice so the villain below wouldn't hear him. "I saw an opening and I took it."

Batgirl grinned at Nightwing. "You know, I think you're right. There just might be hope for him yet."

Nightwing smiled. "I never doubted him for a minute." He answered.

"I've had enough of this!" the Penguin yelled from below. "Blast them!"

The thugs opened fire. All three teens hurriedly ducked, pressing themselves as close to the beams as they could. They could hear the bullets ricocheting off of the metal beneath their feet and whistling through the air past their ears.

"We're pinned down!" Batgirl called to Nightwing, pulling Robin farther into cover.

Nightwing nodded. "I know." He answered over the gunfire. "But we'll get out of this, ok? Batman's due to be here any minute."

Truer words were never spoken.

Any other words Nightwing might have said died in his throat as a brilliant flash of light blinded him. Within an instant it was gone, just like the others. Nightwing's eyes frantically searched the darkness, trying to see past the spots currently clouding his vision. The fingers of his good hand tightened reflexively on the beam he was crouching on as more of those spots cleared, revealing the awful truth. His eyes searched the beams, even checking on the villains down below as they recovered from their temporary blindness. But there was no denying it in the end. The kidnappers were getting bolder.

This was the first time they'd taken two in one go.

He briefly toyed with the idea that maybe they had both been taken because they'd been pressed together in an attempt to avoid the gunfire, but he soon dismissed the thought again. Bart had had a hold of Weather Wizard when they'd taken him, and both the villain and the goggles Bart had been wearing were left behind. The kidnappers didn't take anything they didn't want.

He crouched lower to the beam, taking advantage of the shadows.

He was no good to the others if he was dead. He could hear the villains below, exclaiming over the heroes using some new sort of smoke pellet or something. Light stabbed the darkness around him as they used flashlights to try and spot the 'hiding' kids.

**_Only one of us is hiding. _**He thought, casting a grim look at his injured arm. It was worse than he'd let on with Robin. **_And that one's only hiding out of necessity. _**

Then Batman arrived.

If anyone had asked, he would never have been able to explain how he knew the dark knight had come. He simply knew. A part of him sensed his foster father's presence and relaxed. He associated Batman with safety, despite the job they did. It was this sense of safety that told him his father and mentor was near.

Nightwing carefully tucked the gold owl statue under his injured arm close to his side, insuring he didn't lose it. With his free hand, he drew out one of the black and blue wing dings he'd designed for himself years ago. When the dark knight made his move, Nightwing would be ready to help.

Batman hit them hard and fast.

Nightwing watched as the dark figure seemed to swarm up out of the shadows like some sort of inky smoke. Two of the Penguin's thugs were down before any of them were even aware of his presence, and another was taken out before any of them could react. And all the while Nightwing was harassing them from above.

It didn't take long to beat them.

Batman silently gazed up into the shadows. He could hear the sirens in the distance, swiftly approaching. The villains had been taken care of and the police were barely minutes away. Why hadn't his protégé's come down out of the rafters? A yellow object glittered slightly as it dropped down out of the rafters, and he was quick to catch it. That statue was all he needed to see. If his kids weren't coming down, it meant one of them was hurt.

Rule number one of Gotham City, was show no weakness.

He waited until the police had taken the crooks and loot, pretending to disappear into the shadows. But as soon as they were gone, he was back out there peering up at the rafters. After a long moment, a long lithe figure slowly lowered himself from the I-beam rafters. Batman quietly held out his arms to steady his son. He could already smell the blood.

A quick glance from the dark knight was all it took to ask the question.

An equally quick head shake from Nightwing was all the answer needed.

They made their way from the warehouse in total silence, the dark knight's arm slipped unobtrusively around his son's waist for support. Nightwing smiled a little when the Batmobile came to meet them.

"The same as the others?" Batman asked once the two were safely ensconced in the Bat Mobile's dark interior. Nightwing nodded. Batman started the car, steering it away from the city. The rest of the evening's patrol could wait. Right now, he just wanted to get his son home and taken care of.

For several minutes, all was silent.

"Tati?"

The word was soft, but it immediately arrested the caped crusaders complete and utter attention. The word had been his son's name for him when he was little. It was rare that he used it now.

"This is starting to get scary…"

* * *

There ya go, three kidnappings for the price of one! And I am offering up a challenge. Anyone who can guess the next two to be kidnapped (they'll be taken together) will get a one shot off of me provided it's a fandom I'm at least marginally familiar with. And so no one accuses me of cheating, here's a hint: they're not members of the team, but they're affiliated with one of our heroes. Good luck!

Review!

Until next time...


	13. The Family Way

Hey guys, sorry about the slow update. I recently joined a theater troupe. Between them and schoolwork and my fickle muse I'm having difficulty with this one. But I shall prevail! Doing a quick response section this time around.

Kmack13: Thanks, and it was Babs and Tim.

RandomKitty101: nice try, but no.

RollingUpHigh: Nope, but thanks for the guess!

Kamil The Awesome: Close! But no cigar!

Seven Silences: Don't cry! (hurriedly offers up tissues and a new chapter to stop the tears)

**Cookies to you guys! (::)**

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Undisclosed Location: July 16, 6:15 a.m.**

"Heads up. Here comes another unlucky sucker."

The others looked up curiously. Now that they were listening they could hear the grating as the entrance stone of their cell slid back. Arsenal leaned forward a little, peering up into the opening. He didn't know what was on the other side but, as his escape attempt had shown him, it wasn't about to let him out.

He'd tried to climb up and out when they'd thrown Static in, and something thin, sharp, and flexible had shoved him roughly back down into the cell. He was sporting several makeshift bandages on his arm and torso from that little encounter.

"…um, someone better get over here, because somehow I don't think I'll quite be able to manage it." Arsenal muttered, glaring pointedly at the stump that was all that remained of his left arm. He wasn't handcuffed like the others for that reason, but half of one of the cube cuffs had been fastened to his remaining wrist and then attached to a tight chain around his waist.

The others took the hint.

"I'll catch whoever it is." Cassie murmured.

Arsenal peered up into the entrance. "Better hurry then, cause here he comes."

Cassie raced the last couple steps, arriving at the opening just in time to catch the unconscious form of their latest cellmate. She stared at the darkly garbed form in shock. "It's Batgirl!"

"Look out blondie!"

Cassie hurriedly dropped Batgirl's legs in response to Arsenal's call, holding out her arm to catch the second victim. She nearly dropped them both when she saw the red and black uniform. "Great Hera, they got Robin too!"

"Here, I'll take one." Bart offered.

Cassie reluctantly handed him Robin. She would've much preferred to carry her boyfriend herself, but she was smart enough to recognize that Bart was small and slender, and Robin would be an easier load for him to bear than the much taller Batgirl.

Arsenal followed them back to the corner that had been designated the sleeping area.

He hadn't much cared for the idea of huddling in a group in the corner like a bunch of frightened kids, and he'd said as much that first night. While none of the teens had said anything, the blonde in the Kid Flash sweatshirt had given him quite the look. When night had come and the light had been shut off and the temperature had begun to plummet, he'd understood why they slept together. But he'd stayed in his own little corner anyway. He wasn't exactly sure when, but sometime during the night the others had moved and come to curl up against him while he slept. From the way most of them deferred to the blond he was willing to bet he had her to thank for saving his would be frostbitten hide.

He watched them curl around the cold forms of the latest additions, trying to warm them up. "Well, at least now we _know_ we'll be rescued, and sooner rather than later."

Beast Boy looked up curiously. He was currently sandwiched in next to Robin. "Why's that?"

Arsenal gestured at the unconscious bat and bird. "Because _they're_ here. The rest of the League may stink at finding missing protégé's, but Batman's the world's greatest detective. Nobody messes with his kids, and those that do end up in a body cast. Far as I know the Bat has never failed yet."

A strained silence fell over the room.

Arsenal frowned, clearly he was missing something. "What?"

"Um…" Cassie nervously brushed her fingers through Robin's short dark hair. "This isn't the original Robin."

Arsenal nodded. "I know. The original one is the Nightwing now, and this kid is his little brother. So?"

It was the blond who answered. Arsenal made a mental note to find out her name, he couldn't just keep thinking of her as 'the blond in the Kid Flash hoodie'.

"What Cassie means is that this isn't Nightwing's replacement." She stated grimly. "Nightwing's replacement was beaten to death by the Joker about a year and a half ago."

* * *

**Star City: July 16, 8:37 p.m.**

Jade Nguyen smiled.

She'd been right! She couldn't believe it! She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. She'd had her suspicions for several days, but hadn't had a chance to put her theory to the test.

Tonight had been the perfect opportunity.

She had enjoyed living here with Roy, giving up the life of crime and staying at home to care for Lian. She absolutely _loved _all the quality time she'd gotten to have with her daughter! But she missed the excitement of a life of action. She missed the thrill of the hunt. Eventually she'd brought it up to Roy, and had proposed a solution. He wasn't certain, and it had taken a week to convince him. But in the end she had won the right to go out on patrol with him a couple nights a week, on the grounds that she'd probably go out on her own anyway if he said no.

So, a new item had been added to the Cheshire Cat's bag of tricks: a small backpack with a trench coat and a cell phone. The coat was to hide her costume so she wouldn't alarm the babysitter when she got home, and the cell was so said sitter could reach her if something happened.

Roy would come home later after he finished his patrol and enter through the window.

She'd left off the patrol a little bit early tonight. She'd made a few stops, picked up groceries and a few other things and headed straight for home. The sitter was paid and gone now, and Lian was in her playpen out in the living room. Jade hadn't even had time to take off the trench coat, much less the uniform underneath.

Jade sighed as Lian started crying. **_Right on cue Lian._** She thought dryly.

She made her way back into the living room and scooped her little girl out of the playpen. "What's the matter Lian?" she cooed, bouncing the toddler on her hip.

Lian had yet to walk, but she was already a decent crawler, and lately she'd been using the furniture to work out how to stand. It was only a matter of time till she took her first steps. On her mother's advice, Jade always had a camera in her pocket, charged and ready to go for when the momentous occasion came.

Lian grabbed one of the trench coat's lapels and gave it a yank, giggling.

"Better the coat than my hair." Jade chuckled. She carried Lian into the kitchen and fished her phone out of her backpack. "Now keep quiet for a second Lian." She murmured, hitting the first speed dial and putting the phone to her hear. She frowned and tossed her head, getting her long black hair out of the way before resettling the phone.

Her husband picked up on the third ring.

_"Jade? What's up?" _He asked.

An amused little smile played across her lips. Roy wasn't going to know what hit him when he got home. "You need to come home early tonight." She answered, keeping her voice serious with effort.

She could hear the whistle of the wind through the phone, so it was a safe bet he was moving across the rooftops.

Roy's voice immediately became deadly serious in response. _"Why? What's happened? Is something wrong?"_

Jade inwardly chastised herself. She'd meant to worry him, but more in the 'you-are-so-in-trouble-when-you-get-home' type of way, not the 'Your-wife-and-kid-are-in-danger' kind of way. But then, of course that would be the first conclusion he would jump to. Roy had his faults but he was a good husband, and his wife was a second generation assassin who could and probably did have any number of people gunning for her.

Most of them wouldn't be above taking revenge on her through her baby either.

"We're not in danger 'red'." She answered, calling him by his pet name. "But you and I are going to have _quite_ the talk when you get home."

The whistling of the wind ceased, and she guessed that he'd come to a dead stop on the other end. After several long minutes of silence, the wind picked up again.

_"I'm on my way now." _He promised, grunting as he made a landing. _"I'll get home as quick as I can. I'm about five minutes away give or take. Provided Star City's criminal population doesn't act up right in front of me I'll be there soon." _

"See you then." Jade answered and snapped the phone shut. She grinned at Lian. "That should worry him. Come on darling, let's go wait in the living room to surprise daddy, ok?" Lian gave a happy squeal, tugging on the trench coat's lapel and waving her little fist in the air.

Jade laughed, rubbing the tip of her nose lightly across Lian's, making her daughter laugh and squeal all the more. She snagged a piece of lined paper and an envelope off the desk along with a pen and carried them into the living room.

"You stay out of trouble for a few seconds, ok sweetheart?" she murmured, setting her daughter on the floor and handing her a stuffed animal.

That little stuffed animal never failed to make Jade smile and roll her eyes.

Roy had brought it home for Lian several weeks back, thinking that it would be a big hit. He couldn't have been more surprised when Jade came home and began casting death glares at him upon seeing Lian playing with it in the living room. But Lian had already fallen in love with it, and Jade had grudgingly relented.

The bright purple and pink Cheshire cat with the massive grin was, ironically enough, Lian's favorite toy now.

She sighed and turned her attention to the paper on the coffee table in front of her. Now, how to make the biggest impact on Roy? She chewed on the end of her pen for a moment before jotting down a few quick lines. She red it over just to be sure, then folded it and slipped it in the envelope, enclosing it with a second piece of paper from her pocket. But she didn't seal it.

Roy was so busted.

Jade reclaimed her daughter from the floor and sat back on the couch. Her husband was due to arrive at any moment…

Roy didn't disappoint. The red headed archer climbed in through the window a couple minutes later. He found his dark haired wife seated on the couch with his daughter, lightly bopping said daughter in the nose with her Cheshire Cat doll, much to the child's amusement.

Jade looked up and her smile fell away, a steely, almost deadly look taking its place. The look of a seriously ticked off woman combined with the cold killing instinct of the assassin's daughter. Roy shivered. He knew that she wouldn't kill him. He was the father of her child and she _did_ love him, though she sometimes had a strange way of showing it.

But she wasn't above serious bodily injury if it suited her purpose…

He took a deep breath and asked the dreaded question. "What's wrong?"

Wordlessly, Jade drew an envelope from the pocket of her trench coat and tossed it to him with the same pinpoint accuracy she would've used with one of her throwing stars. Roy fumbled the envelope, having not been expecting it, but managed to keep hold of it. He flipped it over curiously. There were no markings on the envelope. In fact the envelope was pristine white, only slightly crumpled from whatever time it had spent in her pocket.

"From a contact?" he asked, and she nodded.

She had a lot of enemies, and she had called in a few favors when she'd retired to ensure that said enemies didn't come at her while she was unaware. **_This is the first time they've sent a tip off._** He thought grimly. **_Someone's getting to close to the Cheshire Cat. _**

He lifted the flap on the envelope.

A bright white flash blinded him. When it faded away a few moments later, Jade and Lian were gone. Not even Lian's stuffed Cheshire Cat remained. He starred at that couch for several long minutes, then slowly and mechanically tucked the envelope in his pocket. His paralysis suddenly broke and his hand flew to his com as he dashed through the apartment shutting off lights.

"Red Arrow to Watchtower." He growled, grabbing his bow and climbing back out the window and into the night. "You guys better be ready to tell me something I wanna hear…"

* * *

**The Watchtower: July 16, 9:06 p.m. **

"What do you mean 'no dice'?"

The Atom shifted nervously before the man of steel, but it was the dark clad figure _behind_ Superman that had him worried, not Superman himself. Dinah and Diana were there too, but somehow he didn't feel half so threatened by them as he did by that one dark figure.

The Batman's eyes narrowed and Atom quailed under his gaze. "E-exactly what I said." He stammered. "No dice." He gestured to the holo-computer screen and keypad behind him. "See for yourself. I…"

_Recognize. Red. Arrow. Two. One. _

The crimson clad archer stormed out of the zeta tube. He paused for a moment to scan the room, then headed their way when he spotted them.

"Well, that doesn't bode well." Superman murmured as they watched Roy approach. "He looks madder than a wet hen."

Dinah frowned. She had known _this_ Roy for eight years. Yes Roy was angry, but that wasn't the main issue. "To borrow one of your more memorable sayings Superman, Roy looks more worried than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." She shook her head. "Something's wrong."

"_Please _tell me you guys have some sort of clue to the missing kids." Roy asked, completely oblivious to the conversation they were just having.

Atom sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry Roy. I got nothin'. Wherever the kids are being taken, _however_ they're being taken, the location is either shielded in some way or the process is shorting out the tracking beads. We can't find any trace of either Robin or Batgirl's trackers."

There was an exceptionally loud clatter as Roy's bow slipped from his fingers.

His shoulders sagged, and the crimson archer actually swayed on his feet a little. The look on his face was utterly devastated. "…no…" he breathed.

Dinah worriedly reached out to rest a hand on his arm. It was meant to comfort, but it was also a calculated gamble on her part. Depending on the severity of the situation Roy would either pull away, go silent or, if things were _really_ bad he would reluctantly tell her what was wrong. "Roy? What's wrong? What's happened?"

The crimson archer slowly reached up and pulled off his domino mask. In the background the zeta tube whirled to life. The computers began to chime out a new arrival, but none of them really paid attention to who it might be.

Roy rubbed his face. "Who ever took Batman's kids, they just took two more…"

"What?" Wonder Woman exclaimed.

Atom looked at his screen. "None of the other tracking beads have gone inactive. Who'd they take?"

Roy's eyes were haunted. "…they just took my wife and daughter…"

Dinah's mouth dropped open. The fact that she was an honorary grandma didn't surprise her, Ollie had already shared that little bit of news, though she hadn't had a chance yet to meet Roy's budding young family. She'd intended to read Roy the riot act for that the next chance she got.

It was the fact that they had been _taken_. As far as she was aware, the kidnappers had never taken civilians before. "Oh Roy, no…"

"Since when were you married?" Superman exclaimed at almost the same time.

Roy glared at the man of steel and jerked off his archer's glove, holding up his hand so that his wedding band was clearly visible. "I just told you that my wife and toddler have been kidnapped and the only thing you can do is ask me when the hell I got _married_?" his voice had reached an angry yell by the end. "I've been married for three years and I've been a father for a year and a half! Not that _that's_ any of your business! I came here to ask for _help_, not play twenty questions!"

"Roy…" Dinah started, but the clone angrily shrugged her off.

A hand grabbed the archer's shoulder and spun him around, and he found himself face to face with Nightwing. The dark bird was dressed in plain, comfortable clothes: A white t-shirt with an unbuttoned dark blue green flannel shirt over the top, a pair of loose fitting dark blue sweat pants, and a pair of flip flops on his feet.

But he was still wearing his mask, and his right arm was in a sling.

"We're all missing friends and loved one's Roy." He said gently. "Panicking and getting angry at each other won't get them back to us any faster. We are doing everything we can think of to find those already missing, and we'll extend the search to your family as well. Atom's going to keep working on the tracker's problem up here, and I believe Superman was going to do another sweep. You walk with me and tell me what happened, and they'll get on with what they're doing. Ok?"

Roy sighed and nodded. Sometimes he hated logic. "Yeah, ok."

Nightwing patted his shoulder reassuringly and nodded towards one of the many halls leading out of the massive transporter deck. "Alright. Let's meander down towards the gardens, ok? I'll com Kaldur and he can meet us there."

Roy silently walked beside the dark bird, following where he led.

Then Kaldur was there, snapping the redhead back into the present with a hug. "Nightwing has just told me the news." He said softly. "I am sorry Roy. You have my word, the team will do everything in our power to find them and bring them back."

Roy nodded, numbly returning the hug.

His eyes flicked over his surroundings, and he realized he must have had a considerable blank out while he walked. He was now in one of the lower halls, and the open door to his right was the door to Kaldur's room. Maybe Nightwing hadn't managed to reach Kaldur on the coms and had opted for the direct approach.

"Thanks Kal." He murmured, realizing that the Atlantian was waiting for a response.

They started moving again, Nightwing slipping his left hand inside the sling that held his right arm. That arm must've been bothering him, as he seemed to be rubbing it. It didn't take them long to reach the gardens.

"Now." Nightwing said gently. "Tell us what happened as best you can."

Roy stayed on the pavement close to the wall. He knew that Nightwing and Kaldur had brought him down here so the garden could help him calm, but calm was the last thing he wanted to be.

"I was out on patrol when Jade called. I could tell something was wrong, her voice sounded angry, cold. She told me to come home early, that we had something we needed to talk about. And as soon as I said yes she hung up. I high tailed it home as fast as I could, and when I got there she was sitting on the couch playing with Lian. She hadn't even taken off her coat, much less changed her clothes. I asked her what was wrong and she tossed an envelope at me, probably from one of her contacts. They're supposed to warn her if someone gunning for her starts to get too close. But before I could open it, she and Lian just…disappeared…"

Kaldur frowned, looking to Nightwing. "This does not make sense. As you have pointed out, the kidnappers take nothing they do not want. Thus implying that they wanted Lian. But why? They have focused solely on the younger set of heroes up to this point. Why start taking civilians?"

Roy tuned them out.

His brief synopsis of the evening's events had brought the envelope to his attention once more and he now drew it from his pocket with shaking hands. If Jade's contact had warned her about this attack then surely said contact knew who was making the hit!

Of course it could just be coincidence but…

Roy's eyes hungrily scanned the first page, and his face went white with shock. He slowly stumbled backwards a couple steps to put his back against the cold concrete wall, drawing his friends attention as he read the second sheet. The pieces of paper slipped from his fingers and he slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

"Roy?" Kaldur knelt beside him. Webbed fingers gathered up the two pages and passed them to Nightwing.

Nightwing read the lined sheet out loud first. "It says, _'Got you Red! Just wanted to make you sweat a little before I told you congrats. –Jade'_." He brought the second sheet of paper to the fore, his masked eyes decoding the various words, numbers, and jargon as his mouth dropped open.

"Does all that jumbled mess on the second page say what I think it says?" Roy asked softly.

Nightwing nodded.

Kaldur looked from one to the other, confused. "What? What does it say my friend?"

Roy dropped his head down into his hands. "It says I'm a daddy." He whispered softly. "Jade's almost thirteen weeks pregnant…"

* * *

Yay! New kidnaping, and technically another three for one since Jade's in the family way!

Review!

Until next time...


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